Devaswom commissioner’s arrest a major development in Sabarimala gold heist case

The arrest of former Devaswom Board president and Devaswom Commissioner N Vasu is a significant development in the Sabarimala gold robbery case. His arrest indicates that the investigation in the case is entering a crucial phase.

Vasu’s arrest has drawn significant political and public attention in Kerala.

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Vasu, a former CPM leader, has also served as the Kollam Kulakkada Panchayat president. He was PA to P K Gurudasan, when he (Gurudasan) was a minister in the VS Achuthanandan government, from 2006 to 11. Vasu has also served as a member of the Vigilance Tribunal. He is currently an advocate in the Vanchiyoor court in Thiruvananthapuram.

He served as the Devaswom commissioner twice before becoming the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president in 2019. This is the first time that a former Devaswom commissioner was appointed as Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President.

N Vasu was also a trusted person of the CPM leadership. Whether he was on the board or not, he was someone who could make crucial interventions in matters related to Sabarimala. It was in 2019, when the investigation team has now found that gold looting took place in Sabarimala, that N. Vasu was ‘promoted’ from the Devaswom Commissioner’s post to the TDB President’s post.

Former Sabarimala Executive Officer D Sudheesh Kumar, the fifth accused in the gold robbery case, and Murari Babu, former Devaswom administrative officer and the sixth accused, who have been arrested, had reportedly made statements that Vasu had given instructions to them to write that the gold covered frames of the door of the sanctum sanctorum was made of gold.

Vasu’s arrest is considered a major breakthrough in the case due to his high-profile connections to the state’s top leadership and the ruling CPM. It has intensified political reactions in Kerala. As the SIT probe is ongoing it is expected to reach higher echelons of the devaswom administration, with the possibility of more officials being charged. The High Court is closely monitoring the case.

Opposition Leader VD Satheesan had earlier alleged that Vasu was close to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPM. He said with Vasu’s arrest, ministers and CPM leaders involved in the Sabarimala gold loot will also be implicated.

BJP Kerala general secretary MT Ramesh, the other day, alleged that the centre of the conspiracy behind the Sabarimala gold robbery is the AKG Centre, the CPM state headquarter. “If N Vasu is caught, the chief minister will be in trouble. Vasu’s godfather is the chief minister,” he said.

“The case is not limited to just one Unnikrishnan Potty or TDB employee. There is a large network behind this. The plan was to loot all the gold in Sabarimala shrine. It has received government assistance,” Ramesh alleged.

Stating that there has been an international conspiracy to destroy Sabarimala shrine, Ramesh alleged that the CPM and the state government are part of that chain. For bringing out the entire conspiracy behind the Sabarimala gold heist, a CBI probe is necessary, he stressed.