Overview
- Vasu was taken into custody on Tuesday after interrogation, with investigators alleging he directed officials in 2019 to record gold-plated temple fixtures as copper.
- He is accused in the case tied to the sanctum sanctorum door frames, expanding a probe that already includes theft from the Dwarapalaka idols.
- Earlier arrests include prime accused and contractor Unnikrishnan Potti along with TDB officials Murari Babu, Sudheesh Kumar and K. S. Baiju, with about 576 grams recovered so far from Ballari and Bengaluru.
- Investigators say gold plates were routed to Chennai during 2019 renovation work and records were tampered with, a sequence now central to two FIRs under court scrutiny.
- In a separate step to stabilize temple administration, the state named former chief secretary K. Jayakumar as TDB president from November 14 ahead of the Mandala–Makaravilakku season starting November 17, as opposition parties intensify criticism of the government’s handling of the case.