Former TDB president N Vasu granted statutory bail in Sabarimala gold theft case

The Kollam Vigilance Court on Wednesday granted statutory bail to former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President and ex-Devaswom Commissioner N Vasu in connection with the alleged theft of gold from the door frames of the Sabarimala temple. The relief came after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) failed to file its charge sheet within the stipulated 90-day period.

The court imposed stringent conditions while granting bail. Vasu has been barred from entering Pathanamthitta district and is prohibited from leaving the state. He has also been directed to appear before the investigating officers every Tuesday and Friday until further orders.

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Vasu is among the accused granted statutory bail due to the SIT’s failure to submit the charge sheet within the legally mandated time frame. Earlier, four other accused — Unnikrishnan Potty, Murari S. Babu, S. Sreekumar, and Sudheesh Kumar — had secured similar relief from the court.

The alleged offence dates back to 2019, when Vasu was serving as Devaswom Commissioner. He was arrested on November 11, 2025, as part of the ongoing probe into the disappearance of gold-plated copper sheets from the temple’s door frames.

According to the SIT, Vasu allegedly described gold-plated copper sheets merely as copper sheets in official correspondence to the Board. Investigators claim that this communication prompted the Board to initiate steps to remove the gilded sheets from the temple artefacts under the pretext of maintenance work and hand them over to Unnikrishnan Potty.

Vasu, a former CPM leader, has held several public positions over the years. He previously served as President of the Kulakada Panchayat in Kollam and was personal assistant to P.K. Gurudasan during his tenure as minister in the V.S. Achuthanandan government from 2006 to 2011. He has also been a member of the Vigilance Tribunal.

Currently practicing as an advocate at the Vanchiyoor court in Thiruvananthapuram, Vasu served twice as Devaswom Commissioner before being appointed TDB President in 2019. Notably, he was the first former Devaswom Commissioner to assume the post of Travancore Devaswom Board President.

The investigation into the alleged temple gold theft remains ongoing.