Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 11 (IANS) In a major development in the 2019 Sabarimala gold heist case, former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president N. Vasu was arrested on Tuesday evening after two days of questioning.

His arrest marks a turning point in the high-profile investigation, as he is the first person with known political links to the ruling CPI(M) to be taken into custody.

Vasu, who also served as Devaswom Board Commissioner between 2017 and 2019 when A. Padmakumar was Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president, was taken into custody for alleged lapses in the removal of gold-plated Dwarapalaka (temple gatekeeper idol) ornaments from the Sabarimala temple.

The Devaswom Vigilance earlier found that the incident occurred under his watch due to administrative failure.

Vasu is expected to be produced before the Ranni Magistrate Court later in the day.

A former TDB president himself, Vasu has held several key positions in government, including serving as Vigilance Tribunal judge and as private secretary to former Excise Minister P. Gurudasan between 2006 and 2011 during the V.S. Achuthanandan cabinet.

When the scandal first came to light last month, Vasu had publicly maintained that he had done no wrong.

With his arrest, the total number of people held in the case has risen to five.

The others arrested are prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti, described as the “sponsor”, serving TDB official Murari Babu; and retired officials Sudheesh Kumar and K. S. Byju.

The case concerns the alleged theft and misappropriation of gold used in the temple’s Dwarapalaka idols.

Acting on public outcry, the Kerala High Court had appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter, which began its work by registering two separate cases.

The opposition Congress has long demanded Vasu’s arrest, alleging political protection for senior officials connected to the CPI(M).

Tuesday’s action, therefore, is seen as a breakthrough in the ongoing temple gold probe that has stirred both political and public sentiment across Kerala.

It remains to be seen if the court will give him bail, given his age, as he has cooperated with the ongoing probe.

Meanwhile, the police tried their best to hide Vasu from the prying eyes of the TV news channels, but their attempt failed.

This arrest is expected to bring joy to the Congress-led UDF and the BJP-led NDA, which has already launched its local body election campaigning with the Sabarimala gold heist and the way the Vijayan government has been trying to cover it up.

–IANS

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