KOCHI: The Thiruvananthapuram unit of the Central Bureau of investigation (CBI) has questioned suspended IAS officer T O Sooraj in Kochi, in connection with the land-grab case involving Salim Raj.
Sooraj is alleged to have misused his position as the Land Revenue Commissioner by providing assistance to Salim Raj, former gunman of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, in his murky land deals at Pathadippalam near Kalamassery. A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court is scheduled to consider the case on Monday.
During his tenure as the Land Revenue Commissioner, Sooraj allegedly helped Salim Raj in 2012 by manipulating the ‘thandapper’ and mutation of around 1.16 acres of land, valued `25 crore, owned by N A Shareefa of Kalamassery.
However, later, the High Court cancelled the instructions given by Sooraj to the village officer to revoke the mutation of the property. In March 2013, the Court recommended a probe against him after handing over the case to the CBI, on the basis of a complaint lodged by Shareefa and her sons Nasser and Naushad.
The CBI has come to the conclusion that prima facie there were some irregularities in the land deals, after Sooraj cancelled the documents pertaining to the land.
Meanwhile, Sooraj told media-persons that he had only performed his duty, and implemented the reports and files forwarded by his subordinates. Sooraj was interrogated by a three-member CBI team and DySPs George James and D’Cruz, for around three hours, at the CBI district headquarters in Kochi on Friday.