6 months ago
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Former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) commissioner N. Vasu was connected Tuesday arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the High Court to analyse the misappropriation of gold-plated copper casings covering the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple’s chromatic carvings and sculptures.
Mr. Vasu had served arsenic commissioner of the TDB earlier being appointed its president.
Officials said Mr. Vasu’s apprehension pertains to a 2nd lawsuit registered against the suspects, including Unnikrishnan Potti, the premier accused.
The lawsuit concerns the TDB assenting to Mr. Potti’s connection to reconstruct the gold-copper alloy doorway frames of the sanctum sanctorum to their archetypal sheen, escaped of cost.
Officials said Mr. Vasu allegedly could not explicate plausibly wherefore helium had reportedly insisted on, oregon allowed, TDB officials to “miscategorise” the gilded panels arsenic made of axenic copper erstwhile the temple custodians dismantled the casings and handed them implicit to Mr. Potti purportedly for restoration successful 2019.
The SIT besides reportedly recovered responsibility with Mr. Vasu for allegedly failing to guarantee the beingness of the temple smith and different auditors erstwhile the panels, donated to the temple by industrialist Vijay Mallya successful 1998, were disassembled for refurbishment.
The SIT had earlier called connected Mr. Vasu and recorded his statement. Investigators reportedly cross-checked Mr. Vasu’s mentation of events with the statements of 3 indicted TDB officials — Murari Babu, K. Sudheesh Kumar and K.S. Baiju — and recovered it wanting.
Officials said the SIT’s superior lawsuit was that the TDB-level miscategorisation of the gilded encasings arsenic made of axenic copper was patently false, perchance facilitating the alleged pilferage.
The SIT besides reportedly suspects that the TDB’s “wilful misstatement” was cardinal to an alleged and well-entrenched conspiratorial crippled to smelt the panels for the golden oregon to replicate the originals successful a cheaper alloy, perchance to merchantability the authentic gilded casings to affluent collectors oregon to charter them astatine sizeable rent to businesspersons and celebrities for backstage worship.
Officials said the SIT had besides questioned Mr. Vasu regarding an email from Mr. Potti requesting the Devaswom Commissioner’s support to donate “leftover gold” from the restoration process to a bride from a low-income family, suggesting imaginable tampering with the archetypal panels.
The SIT had kept Mr. Vasu’s apprehension nether wraps for respective hours. Plainclothes officers escorted Mr. Vasu to General Hospital successful Thiruvananthapuram for a mandatory aesculapian introspection earlier producing him astatine the designated magistrate tribunal successful Ranni, Pathanamthitta.
The authorities had earlier nominated Mr. Vasu, a lawyer by training, to the Vigilance Tribunal. Later, the medication nominated him arsenic the Devaswom commissioner and TDB president.
Officials said the TDB president successful 2019, erstwhile the alleged transgression occurred, was among those indicted successful the SIT’s FIR filed successful the Ranni magistrate’s court.
However, truthful far, the SIT has not named Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] person K. Padmakumar, who held the TDB presidency astatine the time. Mr. Padmakumar, similar Mr. Vasu earlier, had publically professed his innocence and denied immoderate wrongdoing.
Given the confidentiality clause mandated by the High Court, the SIT was tight-lipped astir whether the probe had reached Mr. Padmakumar and different TDB officials.
