Kochi: Amid the ongoing probe into the Sabarimala gold theft case, Murari Babu, a former officer of the Travancore Devaswom Board and an accused in the case, died at a private hospital in Kochi on Saturday. The 54-year-old native of Kottayam breathed his last while undergoing treatment.
He had spent nearly 90 days in jail after being arrested in connection with the alleged misappropriation of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and the door frames of the sanctum sanctorum at the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple. The court granted him statutory bail after the Special Investigation Team failed to file the chargesheet within the stipulated time. He was named as the second accused in the case.