Amid gold-plating controversy involving the Dwarapalaka idols at the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, the Travancore Devaswom Board on Tuesday suspended a senior official in the department.

B. Murari Babu, who was the administrative officer of the Travancore Devaswom Board in 2019, is currently the Deputy Commissioner of the Harippad Devaswom. Following his suspension, Babu said he said will abide by the Board's decision.

The official's suspension comes after the Devaswom Board found serious lapses on his part during the temple renovation. Babu incorrectly recorded the two gold-plated Dwarapalaka sculptures on both sides of the Sanctum Sanctorum as copper panels in 2019. Six years later, in 2025, he issues an order to hand over the plates to Unnikrishnan Potti to gold re-plating.

Babu, howeve

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