KOCHI: Ahead of the CPM Ernakulam district conference on January 25, allegations of theft have been levelled against district secretariat member John Fernandez.
K V Venugopal, a resident of Palarivattom, accused Fernandez, his former schoolmate, of stealing machinery and equipment worth Rs 40 lakh as well as important documents from his laundry shop under the guise of helping him.
Venugopal also alleged that the neither the party leaders nor the police took any action on his complaints. Fernandez, who is also the CITU district president, has dismissed the allegations.
Venugopal alleged that a few years ago, when he was unwell, Fernandez and his wife Jessy approached him after learning that his laundry shop earned a significant `3.5 to `4 lakh monthly and expressed their desire to take over the shop, claiming it was to support his family.
Fernandez reportedly said Jessy, a retired school clerk, wanted to manage the shop to stay engaged. Based on a verbal agreement, the couple took over the shop on May 22, 2022, and resumed operations on June 1, 2022, claimed Venugopal. “Within a month, they let go of all the employees and shuttered the laundry without any notice.
Soon after, they opened another laundry collection centre under a different name right next to the original shop, claiming it as their own. They stole the machinery and records from my shop,” alleged Venugopal, adding that the stolen goods were moved to a property owned by John’s brother-in-law in Kakkanad allegedly with the help of CITU members at night.
“I approached several CPM district leaders, including district secretary C N Mohanan, Minister P Rajeeve, and state secretary M V Govindan, but no action was taken,” alleged Venugopal while urging the CPM leadership to take appropriate action.
Dismissing the allegations as baseless, Fernandez claimed Venugopal had been making such accusations for a long time.
“Intensifying it (the allegations) at the time of the district conference period seems intentional. My only connection with the shop was that I inaugurated it,”
Fernandez said, adding that the shop had to down shutters due to the Venugopal’s own actions.