Thiruvananthapuram: Former Devaswom Board President N Vasu has been arrested in connection with the Sabarimala gold scam case. The Crime Branch recorded the arrest after questioning him at its Eenchakkal office, and he will be produced in court on Tuesday.

Vasu was serving as Devaswom Commissioner in 2019 when the gold theft took place. He has been named the third accused in the gold slab case, with Unnikrishnan Potti as the first. Questions were raised earlier over the delay in taking Vasu into custody, even after the arrest of Sudheesh Kumar, the fourth accused.

According to the special investigation team, the gold slabs were first recorded as copper in a letter submitted by Vasu to the Board for approval. The Board approved the letter on February 26, 2019 and subsequently decided to hand over the slabs to Potti on March 19. The slabs were removed based on an order issued by Devaswom Secretary S Jayashree.

The investigation report pointed to serious lapses by officials, including Vasu, stating that the gold was lost due to irresponsible administrative actions and failures within the Board.