Thiruvananthapuram, The VACB on Monday arrested a former industries extension officer of the city corporation in connection with the alleged misappropriation of ₹3.57 crore sanctioned as subsidy under a self-employment scheme for women, officials said.
The arrested officer was identified as Praveen Raj T R , a native of Kanjiramkulam in Thiruvananthapuram district, who is currently serving as deputy district industries officer in Kollam taluk.
According to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, a case was registered over alleged irregularities in the disbursal of subsidies linked to loans sanctioned under a self-employment scheme for women in the general category during the 2020–21 financial year.
The probe found that the subsidy amount of ₹3.57 crore, sanctioned for entrepreneurial groups, was allegedly diverted instead of being distributed to genuine beneficiaries, officials said.
The VACB alleged that forged documents were created to falsely show that the subsidy had been disbursed to beneficiaries, following which the funds were transferred to various bank accounts linked to a private establishment owned by another accused, identified as Sindhu.
Raj, who was serving as the industries extension officer of the corporation during the relevant period, was arrested by the vigilance special investigation unit-I as part of the ongoing probe.
{{/usCountry}}Raj, who was serving as the industries extension officer of the corporation during the relevant period, was arrested by the vigilance special investigation unit-I as part of the ongoing probe.
{{/usCountry}}He was later produced before the vigilance court here and remanded to judicial custody.
VACB officials said Raj is also an accused in two other cases registered by the same investigation unit.
One case relates to alleged irregularities involving ₹24 lakh in subsidy disbursal under a self-employment scheme for women belonging to the SC category.
The other case concerns the alleged misappropriation of ₹1.14 crore in subsidies sanctioned under a self-employment scheme for women living below the poverty line within the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation limits.
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