Onam gift row: Vigilance probe to find source of funds

The question now is from where did the chairperson raise the money for it,” said a senior Vigilance officer.
Chairperson Ajitha Thankappan
Chairperson Ajitha Thankappan

KOCHI: The Vigilance team probing the Onam gift row at Thrikkakara municipality has launched an investigation to ascertain the source of the fund utilised by municipal chairperson Ajitha Thankappan to give Rs 10,000 and ‘Onakkodi’ to select councillors of the municipality. 

Though the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) is awaiting approval from Vigilance directorate to register an FIR in the incident, an inquiry is already on to collect the details of the fund utilised by Ajitha for the gifts.“The probe so far has confirmed that the chairperson distributed gifts to councillors. There is evidence to prove this.

The question now is from where did the chairperson raise the money for it,” said a senior Vigilance officer.  The VACB is also seeking legal opinion on confiscating a few files pertaining to the orders issued by finance department and office of the municipal secretary in the past one year. 

Officials said they have directed the municipal secretary to safeguard the hard disk which contains CCTV camera visuals. After a case is registered, summons will be issued to Ajitha to reveal the source of the money. “The chairperson and municipal secretary will be asked to present documents to check whether the money was taken from the municipal exchequer. If it was, the municipal officials will be in big trouble,” said an official.

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