THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked director general of prosecution (DGP) to look into the legal aspects of the report prepared by the Finance Department against Vigilance Director Jacob Thomas.
The report prepared by Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) K M Abraham alleged that Jacob Thomas committed gross irregularities in the purchase of a cutter suction dredger (CSD) during his tenure as Ports director. The report was submitted to the chief minister by chief secretary SM Vijayanand weeks ago.
The chief secretary has recommended an inquiry by two or three senior and efficient police officers supported by technical experts. Jacob Thomas may also be asked to step down from the post of Vigilance director till the inquiry is completed, the report said.
The report has listed out as many as 28 violations in the tender procedure. It says the government incurred a loss of Rs 14.96 crore through the purchase while the selected bidder received a gain of Rs 2.67 crore.
According to the report, Thomas awarded the tender to IHC Merwede deliberately, overlooking the quotation submitted by BEML, the lowest bidder.
By accepting the bid of IHC, Thomas facilitated a pecuniary advantage of Rs 1.95 crore to the IHC, the report said. In addition, the bidder got an additional pecuniary advantage of Rs 72.47 lakh on account of his failure to provide the 1,000 m dredge pipe which was clearly mentioned in the technical specifications.
In total, Jacob Thomas’ actions resulted in a pecuniary gain of Rs 2.67 crore to the bidder, Abraham said in his report.