Kollam: The Kollam Vigilance Court on Wednesday granted bail to former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president N Vasu in the Sabarimala gold theft case after the 90-day remand period expired.

Vasu (75), the third accused in the case, was arrested on November 11, 2025, in connection with the alleged misappropriation of gold from the doorframes of the Sabarimala temple. He sought statutory bail, citing the completion of the mandatory remand period.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) alleged that Vasu served as Devaswom Commissioner from February 1, 2018, to March 14, 2019, and held key administrative responsibilities during the period in question. Unnikrishnan Potty is the first accused in the case.

According to the SIT, Vasu and other officials committed serious administrative lapses that led to the disappearance of the gold. Investigators said that the gold slabs removed from the temple doorframes were initially described as copper in a letter that Vasu forwarded to the Devaswom Board seeking approval. The Board approved the request on February 26, 2019, and subsequently decided on March 19 to hand over the slabs to Unnikrishnan Potty.

The SIT further stated that Devaswom Secretary S Jayashree issued the order to remove the slabs. The investigation concluded that these alleged lapses and negligent decisions resulted in the misappropriation of the gold.