ED raids CSI church headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram

Two years ago, the Kerala High Court had cancelled the admission of 11 MBBS students who got admission by submitting fake community certificates issued by the Bishop. In 2019, the state admission fee regulatory committee also found that the college accepted exorbitant fees from some NRI students

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday raided the headquarters of the Church of South India (CSI) diocese in Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram and its many offices in connection with the medical seat corruption case and money-laundering allegations.

The ED conducted simultaneous raids at the offices of Bishop A Dhamaraj Rasalam, residence of church secretary T T Praveen, former director of the medical college Dr Bennet Abraham and offices of the medical college on Monday. (HT PHOTO.)

Many cases were registered against the diocese after it allegedly took huge amounts of money from students promising them seats at Somervell Memorial Medical College in Karakonam and there were also allegations of money-laundering by church-run institutions.

The ED conducted simultaneous raids at the offices of Bishop A Dhamaraj Rasalam, residence of church secretary T T Praveen, former director of the medical college Dr Bennet Abraham and offices of the medical college.

Two years ago, the Kerala High Court had cancelled the admission of 11 MBBS students who got admission by submitting fake community certificates issued by the Bishop. In 2019, the state admission fee regulatory committee also found that the college accepted exorbitant fees from some NRI students. Later, some students from Tamil Nadu also filed a complaint alleging that huge sums were taken by the college management for MBBS seats and that they were cheated. The CSI church was also in the news two months ago after its Thiruvananthapuram diocese was converted into a cathedral. Two groups, supporting and opposing the move, clashed with each other and later police dispersed them.

A spokesperson of the church blamed a section of believers for mounting “frivolous cases” against the Bishop and others. “We are co-operating well with all agencies. We will come out clean,” said spokesperson C R Godwin. The raid which started in the morning continued till late evening.