Akhil Sajeev had been absconding ever since the bribery charges cropped up, for the appointment of a medical officer recently.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George. (Facebook)
The suspected kingpin in the alleged job fraud and bribery charges against a personal staff member of Kerala Health Minister Veena George has been caught from Theni in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, police said on Friday, 6 October.
Akhil Sajeev had been absconding ever since the bribery charges cropped up. It has been alleged that money was paid for the appointment of a medical officer recently.
The health minister’s office had rejected the allegations against the personal staff member, Akhil Mathew, and complained to the Thiruvananthapuram city police, seeking a detailed probe into the allegation.
A senior police officer said Sajeev was taken into custody by a state police team from Theni and was brought to Kerala.
“He was in a hideout in Theni. As he was not using his mobile phone, it was difficult for us to trace his exact location,” the officer told PTI.
His arrest would be recorded soon, the officer added. Sajeev is also accused in another fraud case being investigated by the Pathanamthitta police.
He is a former office secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the trade union wing of the CPI(M), in Pathanamthitta.
The alleged job fraud, in connection with appointments under the Health Department, came up recently after Haridasan, a Malappuram native, said that Mathew, a personal staff member of the health minister, accepted a bribe from him for the appointment of his daughter-in-law as a medical officer.
On Wednesday, a man, Raees, was arrested in connection with the bribery allegations.
He was arrested for allegedly creating a fake email related to temporary appointments in the Ayush Mission, the police said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had earlier said the health minister’s private secretary and staff members, who were facing the allegations, had themselves lodged separate police complaints in this regard.
Haridasan had alleged that a personal staff member of the minister took ₹1 lakh as a bribe for the appointment of his daughter-in-law as a government medical officer.
Haridasan had further charged that a former office secretary of CITU in Pathanamthitta, who allegedly acted as a middleman, had also accepted a bribe for the said appointment. However, his daughter-in-law didn’t get the job.
As the allegations triggered a huge political row in the state, Mathew approached the police, seeking a probe into the matter. The police registered an FIR under IPC sections 419 and 420 (cheating) based on the complaint by Mathew.
Terming the bribery charges against the health minister’s staff as “serious”, the Opposition Congress had said corruption was thriving in all government departments in the state.
Rejecting the allegations, the health minister’s office earlier said a complaint has been forwarded to the DGP for a detailed inquiry into the matter.
Minister George also came out strongly against it and said that based on the complaint received, she sought an explanation from the accused personal staff member.
She also said she never tried to cover up the complaint when she received it.
“When I received such a complaint, as a minister, what I did first was… seek an explanation from my staff member against whom the charge was levelled. It was part of the investigation I conducted in my office about the issue,” she told reporters in Kannur.
(With PTI inputs)
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