THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The police have found that a racket based at Mavelikkara in Alappuzha duped lakhs of rupees from more than 40 people after promising them jobs in the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).The Mavelikkara police have so far registered 41 cases in connection with the incident. According to them, the number of cases may go up following further interrogation of those arrested.
The police said the racket collected Rs 2.80 crore from job aspirants involved in the 41 cases. The police intensified the investigation into the scam following open criticism by Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board (KDRB) chairman M Rajagopalan Nair. On Wednesday, he accused the police of sitting on complaints by job-seekers. The chairman alleged that the police started investigation into the complaints only after he petitioned the chief minister against their laxity.
The state police chief on Thursday asked the Ernakulam Range DIG to investigate the alleged lapses on the part of the police. It is learnt that the special branch has submitted a report on the lapses of the Mavelikkara police. A grade sub-inspector has been named for leaking information to Vineesh, the kingpin of the racket. Mavelikkara station house officer Sreejith C told TNIE that five of the seven-member racket have been arrested. A search is on for the other two. He said Vineesh is suspected to have been involved in similar crimes before.
The police searched his lodge room and seized a fake identity card showing that he was a livestock inspector. Veterinary medicines were also found in the room. The police said Vineesh was an ITI diploma holder who canvassed people claiming that he had links with devaswom recruitment officers. The duped candidates were promised jobs in KDRB headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, Devaswom Board College in Sasthamcotta, Kshethra Kalapeedam at Vaikom and a temple in Chavara.