KOCHI: THE Kerala House in New Delhi which had earlier hit the headlines over the beef dish served at its restaurant is in the news yet again after it emerged some of its staffers secured promotions by submitting false certificates.The Ernakulam unit of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has registered case against three last grade employees of Kerala House for submitting fake certificates of an educational institute in Kochi for securing promotions.
The accused are Vasumohan Pillai, 54, Pallikkal Pathanamthitta, Sasidharan C, 49, Pathirapilly in Alappuzha, and Bijukumar, 43, Uzhamalakkal, Thiruvananthapuram. While Vasumohanan is serving as a room attendant, Sasidharan is a bearer and Bijukumar R a kitchen helper at the Kerala House. The accused are office-bearers of NGO association.
According to the VACB, the trio submitted Diploma in Hotel Management certificates issued by the Indian Institute Management Studies (IIMS), Kochi, to secure promotion. As per the certificates, they had undergone the course at the institution in 2013-2014. The resident commission of the Kerala House had last year sent the certificates to the VACB to verify their authenticity. After a preliminary inquiry, the VACB found the certificates were fake and sought permission of the VACB director to register case against the accused.
“Vasumohanan and Bijukumar had received promotion last year after submitting the certificates. Though Sasidharan had submitted the certificate, his promotion was kept on hold after the resident commissioner doubted the authenticity of the certificates,” a VACB officer said.
In the preliminary inquiry, the VACB found the institute had not issued any qualification certificates to the three persons. “It seems the accused forged the stamp and certificate. The duplicate certificate looked similar to the original issued by the institution,” the officer said.
The officers also verified whether more employees of the Kerala House had obtained promotions illegally by submitting fake qualification certificates.
The case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Section 13(1)(d)(i) and IPC Sections 468, 471 and 120(b). The VACB has filed the FIR in the case before the Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court.