Court in Kerala rejects plea seeking vigilance probe against CM Vijayan, his daughter

A court here on Saturday dismissed a plea seeking vigilance inquiry against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter and others.

Kochi: A court here on Saturday dismissed a plea seeking vigilance inquiry against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter and others in connection with alleged financial transactions between a private mineral company and her IT firm.

The Special Vigilance Court in Muvattupuzha dismissed the petition filed by social activist Gireesh Babu, for want of evidence, sources said.

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The petition sought an investigation into the “illegal financial transactions, coming under the ambit of bribery, carried out between the accused persons,” in connection with mining and other “business interests” of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL).

Apart from Veena T and Vijayan, the petition had also arraigned former leader of Opposition in the state Assembly and senior Congress leader, Ramesh Chennithala, Indian Union Muslim League leaders P K Kunhalikutty and V K Ibrahimkunju, Veena’s IT firm, CMRL and others.

A controversy had erupted recently over certain financial transactions between CMRL and the Chief Minister’s daughter Veena and her IT firm.

The issue came to fore after a Malayalam daily recently reported that the CMRL had paid a total of Rs 1.72 crore to the CM’s daughter between 2017 and 2020.

The news report, citing the recent ruling of an interim board for settlement, said that the Kochi-based company previously had an agreement with Veena’s IT firm for consultancy and software support services.

Despite the fact that no service was rendered by her firm, the amount was paid on a monthly basis “due to her relationship with a prominent person”, the report added.