THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The tussle between IAS officers and Vigilance chief Jacob Thomas came to the fore on Thursday, when senior IAS officers lodged protests with Chief Secretary S M Vijayanand over the Vigilance visit to Additional Chief Secretary K M Abraham’s residence the other day. It was learnt that the officers told Vijayanand that Vigilance’s actions had dampened their spirits. A Vigilance team, which had visited Abraham’s residence at Jagathy on Wednesday and measured its area, had collected information from his wife, as Abraham was not present at the time.
Vigilance defends visit
Vigilance officials defended the visit, saying it was not a raid. They also denied allegations that Abraham was being targeted. “The Vigilance court ordered a preliminary probe into a disproportionate assets petition against him. We are bound to check the veracity of the allegations by collecting evidence,” they added. They stated that they would record statements of Abraham and his family members as part of the verification.
Human rights activist Jomon Puthenpurackal had filed the petition against Abraham, alleging that the officer never submitted asset details of his wife and daughter as stipulated in Civil Services Rules. “The EMI of his apartments in Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram is almost equal to his salary. He should explain how he meets his daily expenses in such a case,” the petitioner added.
The Vigilance has been asked to submit its report on November 7.