Kochi: Inspector-General of Police Manoj Abraham moved the Kerala High Court on Tuesday challenging the Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court order directing the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to register a case against him on a complaint alleging amassment of wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income. The petition moved by P.P. Chandrasekharan Nair of Pathanamthitta alleged that Manoj Abraham had unholy nexus with the quarry mafia and had misused his position to stop action against illegal quarrying in Pathanamthitta.
He alleged that the officer had constructed a mansion in Thiruvananthapuram and conducted numerous foreign trips under sponsorship of some businessmen. Irregu-larities were committed by the IG in the purchase of arms for the India Reserve Battalion. He had invested a substantial portion of his ill-gotten money in St. Mary's group which was related to his wife, it was alleged. Manoj Abraham argued that the quick verification conducted by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Special Cell, Vigilance, Ernakulam, had found that the allegations had not been substantiated by any material.
The superintendent of police had not recommended any action against him. The reasoning arrived by the Vigilance Court to hold that there was prima facie material to register a case against him for amassing disproportionate assets was erroneous. Besides, it was impermissible for the court to calculate the asset, income and expenditure while considering a quick verification report, he argued.
