Sabarimala gold heist: ED questions Vasu

Kochi: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) questioned former president of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) N Vasu in the Sabarimala gold heist case on Tuesday. Vasu appeared at the ED Kochi office on Tuesday morning and was questioned for hours. ED has also directed Sabarimala tanthri Kandararu Rajeevaru to appear before the agency. He is likely to be questioned this week itself, sources said. Vasu, who was arrested by the special investigation team (SIT) probing the case, was later granted bail by the Kollam vigilance court after the SIT could not file a chargesheet within 90 days of his arrest. The SIT arrested Rajeevaru on Jan 9 and he too was granted bail in the case.ED earlier questioned others involved in the case, including former administrative officer of TDB Murari Babu and former TDB secretary S Jayasree. The agency also questioned actor Jayaram, relating to his connections with prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti. ED had conducted search operations at 21 locations across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in connection with the probe into the misappropriation of gold and other temple assets relating to Sabarimala temple.According to ED, the investigation was based on multiple FIRs registered by the Kerala crime branch. Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was registered on Jan 9, 2026, in this case after getting the favourable order from the court.The preliminary ED investigation disclosed that gold-clad sacred artefacts were deliberately misrepresented as ‘copper plates' in official records and unlawfully removed from the temple premises during the period 2019-2025. The gold was allegedly extracted through chemical processes at private facilities in Chennai and Karnataka, generating proceeds of crime which were retained, transferred and concealed.