VACB recommends action against PWD secretary
Vigilance raid on PWD secretary Sooraj. (Photo: DC/File)
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: PWD secretary T.O. Sooraj is likely to be suspended as the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has recommended to the government that his continuation in office could affect the vigilance investigation against him. A political row has also been kicked up with PWD Minister V.K. Ebrahim Kunju expressing unhappiness over Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala’s action.
Chief Secretary E.K. Bharat Bhushan forwarded a report sent by Vigilance director Vinson M. Paul recommending his suspension to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday evening. The VACB also quizzed Mr. Sooraj in Kochi on Friday.
Mr Ebrahim Kunju criticised Mr Chennithala saying it was ‘not decent’ on his part not to have informed him (Kunju) about the raid. He even recollected that as KPCC president, Mr Chennithala had strongly objected to the Vigilance raids conducted on Consumerfed offices without informing Cooperation Minister C.N. Balakrishnan.
In response, Mr. Chennithala said that there was no politics in the Vigilance action against Mr Sooraj. “Vigilance is not a caged parrot. They will go ahead with the probe against corruption,” he said.
Government sources said that though Mr Sooraj, who was said to be a close confidant of some IUML ministers, had so far managed to avoid any disciplinary proceedings against him despite a number of Vigilance cases, it would be difficult for him to rescue himself this time as pressure was mounting on the government for his suspension. Moreover, IPS officer Rahul R. Nair was suspended the other day on charges of accepting a bribe of Rs 17 lakh, whereas the Vigilance’s preliminary assumption is that Mr Sooraj amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 1.83 crore.
The VACB Ernakulam special cell quizzed Mr Sooraj for nearly three hours mainly on the seizures made during the raid on his houses and commercial establishments in Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram.
“It’s a usual procedure to quiz the accused after conducting the raids. The questions were mainly about the documents seized and the wealth in the name of his relatives. The questioning was done by a team led by investigating officer DySP K.R. Venugopalan,” said special cell SP K.M. Tomy. Mr Sooraj was summoned to the VACB office in Kochi.
Earlier during the day, the VACB produced the documents seized in the raid before the Inquiry Commissioner and Special Court (Vigilance) court in Thrissur. They comprised about 140 documents, including title deeds and the details of bank accounts and other valuables.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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