THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vigilance special court here on Tuesday pulled up the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau for the delay in registering cases against former chief minister Oommen Chandy and others in connection with the Pattoor land scam. Considering a petition filed by veteran CPM leader V.S. Achuthanandan, the Inquiry Commissioner and Special Court (Vigilance) also directed the petitioner to produce any further evidence regarding the allegation.
The Vigilance counsel told the court that a quick verification into the allegation was progressing and a case could not be registered as many important documents pertaining to it were in the possession of the Lok Ayukta, which was also considering the case pertaining to land grab allegation. The Vigilance also sought more time to file the quick verification report.
In a petition filed in November 2015, Mr. Achuthanandan had urged that a case should be registered against Mr. Chandy, then revenue minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, former chief secretary E.K. Bharat Bhushan, former KWA MD Ashok Kumar Singh, senior revenue department official T.V. Vijaya Kumar and Managing Director, Artech Realtors Ltd, T.S. Ashok. Confirming land encroachment, the Lok Ayukta in March 2016 ordered to take over 12.279 cents of land illegally possessed by the private builder at Pattoor.
