Vigilance arrests priest in Sabarimala ghee embezzlement case – Imperial Wire

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) Pathanamthitta unit on Wednesday arrested Okay.R. Sunilkumar Potti, a former priest and Devaswom worker, for his alleged involvement in a significant monetary fraud in the course of the 2025 Sabarimala Mandala-Makaravilakku season.

The accused, a local of Aroor in Alappuzha, was beforehand serving as a priest on the Chaliyekkara Bhadrakali temple beneath the Punalur group of the TDB. Through the pilgrimage season, he had been formally deputed by the board to supervise the sale of ‘Aadiya Shishtam Neyyu’ (ghee left over after the providing) at Sabarimala.

The arrest follows an in depth investigation into the irregularities surrounding the sale of ghee packets in the course of the pageant interval. Based on the Vigilance division, devaswom workers entrusted with the sale of those packets manipulated inventory information and didn’t remit the total proceeds to the Board’s account. This systemic embezzlement resulted in a big monetary lack of ₹36,24,400 to the board. The fraudulent exercise was uncovered after discrepancies had been famous between the precise inventory offered and the income formally accounted for by the deputed workers.

Sunilkumar Potti was arrested following the registration of a case by the Pathanamthitta Vigilance unit in reference to the monetary loss incurred by the board. He shall be produced earlier than the Vigilance Courtroom in Kollam.