THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan wrote a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday, urging the immediate formation of a special vigilance team to investigate serious allegations of corruption, financial fraud, and irregularities at Kerala Digital University.
In the letter, Satheesan raised grave concerns over the functioning of the university, particularly pointing to the role of India Graphene Engineering and Innovation Centre—a private company that partnered in the graphene project, which the chief minister had publicly championed. He alleged that the company began operations only after the government order on the project was issued but received advance funds even before completing necessary official procedures.
“It is deeply shameful for the state that such blatant corruption has occurred in a project of this scale,” Satheesan wrote. He claimed that various projects meant for the university are being hijacked by private interests using shell companies floated by faculty members.
“Reports suggest that some teachers have formed more than five companies to swindle project funds and are using university-paid staff to run these firms,” he alleged.
The opposition leader further stated that in addition to Rs 94.85 crore granted by the Union Ministry of Electronics, the state government has also committed significant funds to the graphene initiative. He said this makes the alleged misuse even more serious. Satheesan also flagged concerns over the misuse of infrastructure, alleging that a building leased by the university for the proposed Digital Science Park—built at a cost of crores—was being used to house employees of private firms.
“These corrupt and misguided moves are unfolding right under the Chief Minister’s leadership,” he said in the letter.