Widespread misuse of Kerala CM's relief fund detected; VACB begins probe

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has detected a widespread misappropriation of the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund allegedly by an organised network of government officials, doctors and agents after submitting forged medical certificates and other documents. Confirming the fraud, VACB Director Manoj Abraham told reporters here on Thursday that the agency had already carried out state-wide raids based on intelligence inputs and some complaints in this regard.

The CMO also gave directions to unearth the embezzlement after some of the applications they verified were found to be fake, he said.

"We have conducted widespread raids across the state. Irregularities had been unearthed in many places," he said.


When asked about the role of government officials in Collectorates in various districts and doctors in state-run hospitals, Abraham said their corruption angle would be verified during the time of field enquiry which would be conducted in the coming days.

When the statements of applicants were recorded, the details of those involved would be clearer, he said.

Though, it was earlier considered a localised crime limited to certain districts only, it was found during the probe that the fraud was conducted in almost all districts of the state, he said.

Thus, the VACB conducted surprise checks in suspected premises across the state, he said, adding that most number of complaints were received in Kollam district.

"We assume that it was an organised fraud. A dedicated team was behind this. During the verification, it was found that the mobile number of one agent was given in several applications in a particular district," he said.

The anti-corruption agency is now verifying the documents related to CMDRF in the past two years and the detailed verification would be completed in two days.

As many as 2,000 files had been verified so far, the Director added.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress expressed shock over the reports of CMDRF related fraud and demanded a probe by a special team to bring out the truth.

Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan told reporters in Kochi that a huge fraud had been found in various districts in the preliminary inquiry itself.

It is now evident that no adequate inspections were carried out at village offices, collectorates and the Chief Minister's office before granting the financial relief from the CMDRF.

"A special team should be formed to examine the entire files in this regard and conduct the investigation," he said and charged that those who were close to the ruling CPI(M) were also behind the fraud.

If any attempt was made to protect the accused, the government would face intense agitations by the opposition, Satheesan added.