Thiruvananthapuram | The VACB has arrested a transport contractor for allegedly diverting 11,000 litres of Milma ghee meant for Sabarimala temple and replacing it with a cheaper product, causing an estimated loss of Rs 2.5 crore to the Travancore Devaswom Board, officials said on Saturday.

The arrested person is S S Binu, who was awarded the contract to transport the ghee to the hill shrine for the 2025 pilgrimage season, officials said.

This is the first arrest in the case, which is being investigated by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau's Special Investigation Unit following a Kerala High Court directive to probe alleged irregularities in the procurement and quality of ghee supplied to the temple.

Binu was summoned for questioning by the VACB team on Friday, following which he was arrested, officials said.

Milma is the brand name of the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF).

According to the VACB, the Travancore Devaswom Board had procured Milma ghee for preparing 'Aravana payasam', a sweet made with red rice, jaggery and ghee and offered as 'prasadam' at the Lord Ayyappa temple.

The TDB had directly awarded the supply contract to the Pathanamthitta Milma dairy without inviting quotations, following which the transportation contract was entrusted to Binu, officials said.

The VACB alleged that the original ghee meant for Sabarimala was diverted to two agencies in Tamil Nadu and replaced with a cheaper product supplied to the shrine.

Investigators suspect that Binu used forged documents, including fake invoices, to divert the original consignment to Sri Venkateswara Traders and Leo Traders, both based in Ottanchathiram in Tamil Nadu, officials said.

The VACB has estimated that the alleged diversion of the original ghee and its replacement with a cheaper product caused a loss of around Rs 2.5 crore to the TDB.

Further investigation is under way, officials added.