They also argued that the alleged incident did not occur during his tenure as either TDB president or commissioner. The court rejected the objections.

Vasu has been named the third accused in the case involving gold-plated copper casings that covered the stone carvings and sculptures of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple.

According to the SIT, the slabs were incorrectly recorded as copper in a letter submitted by Vasu to the Board. The Board approved the letter on 26 February 2019 and later decided to hand over the slabs to Potti on 19 March 2019. The removal was carried out based on an order issued by Devaswom Secretary S Jayashree.

The investigation report cites serious lapses on the part of officials, including Vasu, and states that the gold was lost due to irresponsible administrative actions and failures within the Board.

Vasu was arrested on Tuesday by the SIT appointed by the High Court to probe the alleged misappropriation of the gold-plated casings.