Register criminal cases against Devaswom Minister, TDB: Cong.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph has sought registration of criminal cases against the Devaswom Minister and the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) for the “large-scale corruption” in the conduct of the Global Ayyappa Meet. He sought a comprehensive investigation into charges of misappropriation of funds, fabrication of documents, and criminal breach of trust.

Addressing the media at the Kannur District Congress Committee office here, Mr. Joseph alleged that the audited expenditure figures of the event and the amounts claimed by the Minister and the Board did not match.

“If he has integrity, the Devaswom Minister should resign. If he believes he can escape by shifting responsibility onto someone else, he is mistaken,” Mr. Joseph said.

He alleged that a conspiracy had been hatched to siphon off funds in the name of organising the meet, and that fabricated documents had been created for the purpose. Many of the vouchers submitted were bogus and prepared to justify fraudulent claims, he alleged and sought an inquiry to identify those who created false records.

He also alleged that those involved in the Sabarimala gold theft case were still being protected, and that delays in filing the chargesheet enabled the accused to secure bail on technical grounds.