THRISSUR: Under the direction of Thrissur Vigilance Court, a case was registered against five Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) from Ernakulam, Thrissur and Palakkad districts in a case related to financial misappropriation of public funds of over Rs 15 crores.
The case was registered against former RTOs T J Thomas, B J Antony, P C Thomas, Jose Paul and C Radhakrishnan, who were charged with violations in sections related to CrPC and IPC. Based on a petition filed by Kerala Bus Transport Association State President Johnson Padamadan and represented by advocate K D Babu, Ernakulam Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Special Cell SP K M Tomi had prepared a preliminary report.
Based on this report, Thrissur Vigilance Court had ordered a case to be registered against the officials.
The government had allowed a fund of Rs 42 lakh for Ernakulam, Rs 36 lakh for Thrissur and Rs 84 lakh for Palakkad to impart training and awareness for the public and driving school instructors.
The RTOs from the three districts were charged with furnishing fake vouchers and bills to justify non-existant expenditure.
TheVigilance Court had earlier ordered the Ernakulam Vigilance special cell to conduct an investigation into the issue and furnish preliminary report.