Kerala CM: 1,343 FIRs registered in ₹281 crore CSR case
The scam has been undertaken through Socio-Economic and Environmental Development Society and the NGO Confederation, the CM said
The key accused in the corporate social responsibility (CSR ) fund case collected over ₹281 crore from over 49,000 people promising them two wheelers at half price but fulfilled the promise to only one third of them, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday.
Vijayan reported the findings of the ongoing Crime Branch probe into the scam during the Assembly’s question hour in response to questions lodged by assembly member Murali Perunelly. He added that 1,343 FIRs had been lodged in various police stations across the state till March 12, of which 665 cases have been transferred to the Crime Branch division.
“As per the findings from the 386 cases probed so far, the accused collected ₹281.43 crore from 49,386 persons after promising them scooters at half the price. However, only 16,438 of them got the scooters, leaving the remaining cheated,” said the CM.
The accused had also collected money through seed societies and charitable trusts, promising people of distributing laptops and sewing machines at half the price.
“For laptops, ₹9.22 crore was collected from 36,891 persons. But only 29,897 persons got the laptops. For sewing machines, ₹23.24 crore was collected from 56,052 persons. Only 53,478 persons got the sewing machines,” the Vijayan said, based on the data from the Crime Branch investigations.
Six persons including the key accused Ananthu Krishnan and Ananda Kumar had been arrested and booked Vijayan, who directly oversees the police department, confirmed. The others arrested include Ravi Panackal, PP Basheer, Riyas and Muhammed Shafi. Over 20 bank accounts belonging to them have been frozen and court proceedings are on to attach three of their properties, he added.
“The scam has been undertaken through Socio-Economic and Environmental Development Society and the NGO Confederation. With Ananda Kumar as chairman and Ananthu Krishnan as secretary, seed societies and confederations were formed. The accused, who posed with prominent persons for photographs, used them to gain the trust of the victims. They pledged to provide them scooters and other appliances at half the price using CSR funds of big companies. They also spread the word that they were getting funds from the Union government. Coordinators and field staff were appointed to attract beneficiaries,” the CM said.
He said that the probe of the Crime Branch was in the initial phase in over 220 cases and that information of political links to the scam would come out in the course of the investigation.