THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Social activist K M Shahjahan on Wednesday approached the Vigilance with a complaint seeking action against Health and Social Justice Minister K K Shylaja for allegedly forging medical bills for reimbursements which further caused loss to the state exchequer. However, the Vigilance is yet to take action on the complaint.
The complaint said the minister had misused her position and fabricated documents for the purpose of cheating the public exchequer and the Kerala Government to extract Rs 3, 90,250. Shahjahan said in the complaint it was a complete violation of Members of Kerala Legislative Assembly (Medical Facilities) Rules, 1994 with regard to claim reimbursement of the cost of treatment / medical attendance by members.
The complaint said the minister had submitted an application for claiming reimbursement of the cost of treatment to the tune of Rs 3,90,250 to the government. The application included medical bills and other certificates received from five private hospitals/institutions- KIMS, Thiruvananthapuram; Jothydev Diabetes and Research Centre, Thiruvananthapuram; AKGM Cooperative Hospital, Kannur; Lakshmi Memorial Hospital, Kannur; and L M Hospital, Thalassery, (later came to be identified as a hospital which was non existent). The bills and certificates produced by the minister and other private hospitals are bogus and have been falsified and fabricated to illegally extract an amount of Rs 3,90,250 from the public exchequer, the complaint said.
The complaint also said the minister and private hospital parties had entered into a criminal conspiracy by committing the act multiple times and cheating the government.The allegations are also being levelled against Shylaja’s husband K Bhaskaran, who serves as Mattannur municipal chairman. It was alleged she reimbursed the cost from the government when her husband underwent a treatment at a private hospital claiming him as her dependant.