Kollam: The Vigilance Court in Kollam on Monday granted statutory bail to K P Sankar Das, a former member of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), in connection with the Sabarimala gold theft case.

Das, who was arrested in January as the 11th accused in the case, secured bail after the investigation team failed to file a chargesheet within the stipulated 90 days. With this, all the accused in the case are now out on bail.

Das was among the 13 accused in the case and was the last to remain in custody. Those who had earlier obtained bail include A Padmakumar, Tantri Kantaru Rajeevaru and Unnikrishnan Potty. He had served as a TDB member during the tenure of Padmakumar as its chairman.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recorded his arrest in January for the misappropriation of gold from the door frames and the Dwarapalaka idols in the Sabarimala temple, while he was undergoing treatment at a private hospital. The action followed harsh criticism from the High Court over delays in taking him into custody.

The High Court had also raised doubts about his medical condition. It then noted that case records showed Sankar Das had cooperated with the probe in its initial stages and had appeared before the investigating officer without reporting any health issues, at a time when he was not listed as an accused.

The court further observed that it was a matter of judicial notice that his son serves as a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police in the state, referring to DIG Harisankar.