Former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) member K P Sankaradas was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the Sabarimala gold theft case. The arrest was recorded by the special investigation team (SIT) at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, where he has been undergoing treatment.

Kollam Vigilance Court judge is scheduled to visit the hospital on Thursday to remand him. A decision on whether Sankaradas should be shifted to the Medical College hospital for further treatment will be taken later. He had been in the intensive care unit of the private hospital for the past few days and was arrested shortly after being shifted to a room. The SIT has informed the Kollam Principal Sessions Court that the arrest has been recorded.

Earlier, the High Court had criticised the SIT over the delay in arresting Sankaradas, asking, “What nonsense is happening in the investigation?”

The Kollam Principal Sessions Court, which was hearing his anticipatory bail plea, had earlier directed that the medical board’s report be produced. The defence informed the court that Sankaradas was unconscious in a Thiruvananthapuram hospital and submitted photographs and medical records in support of the claim. Sankaradas was a member of the TDB during the tenure of A Padmakumar as its chairman. Sankaradas’s arrest is the 12th in the case.