SIT arrests former TDB chief Vasu in Sabarimala theft case

Former Travancore Devaswom Board president and ex-Devaswom Commissioner N Vasu was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the Sabarimala gold heist case on Tuesday. He was summoned for questioning and subsequently arrested. SIT chief SP S Sashidharan had questioned Vasu earlier. Vasu, who served as the president of the TDB between 2019 and 2021, was produced before a magistrate’s court in Pathanamthitta.
As per report, this marks the first high-profile arrest in the case, which followed multiple rounds of interrogation by the sleuths. Vasu had earlier served twice as Devaswom Commissioner before assuming charge as TDB president.The investigators also maintained that it was allegedly on Vasu’s instruction that the gold-clad sheet was mentioned as a copper sheet in the Devaswom order as well as in the mahazar.The SIT found that it was during Vasu’s tenure as Devaswom Commissioner that the order was issued permitting Unnikrishnan Potti to take the gold-plated sheet for electroplating in Chennai.So far, the SIT has arrested five people, including former Sabarimala administrative officer Murari Babu, former Sabarimala executive officer Sudheesh Kumar, and former Thiruvabharana Commissioner K S Biju.
The arrest puts pressure on Kerala's ruling left government, as his appointment to the board was seen as a political appointment. Vasu was also a private secretary to former CPI(M) Minister PK Gurudasan. Vasu was also elected as a panchayat member twice as a CPI(M) candidate. Both the BJP and the Congress party in the state had questioned the delay of Vasu's arrest during their high-decibel protests for the last four weeks.