KOCHI: Former journalist Shaj Kiran had offered to arrange funds for High range Rural Development Society (HRDS) from the USA using his links with the Believers Church, society honorary secretary Aji Krishnan has said. “Shaj Kiran said the Believers Church used to get funds to the tune of Rs 600 crore from the US, but the government cancelled its FCRA registration which affected its fund flow. He had introduced himself as one of the director board members of the Believers Church Hospital in Tiruvalla.
He said the funds could be received using the HRDS’ FCRA registration if we paid him 20% commission. However, we turned down the offer as the service charge was very high,” he said.“Shaj came to our office to meet Swapna (Suresh) around two months ago. He appreciated our Sadgraha project and said providing one-crore houses to the poor was a great initiative. ,” said Aji.
He said a wildlife photographer had requested him to give a job to Swapna who was struggling to raise her children after her release from the prison. “Though we knew it was risky as supporting Swapna might antagonise the government, we decided to give her a job. . She was used as a tool by some powerful people who abandoned her after exploiting her. She only obeyed the orders of the attache at the UAE Consulate. She spent one-and-a-half years in the prison and we helped her restart her life,” said Aji Krishnan.
He said the HRDS started receiving threat calls after Swapna used their premises to raise allegations against the chief minister. “Some people are filing cases against us and our hoardings are being removed. We will continue supporting Swapna as she is being hunted. If we didn’t support her after her release from the jail, she would have got killed.
When Sivasankar has been reinstated in service, why are some people targeting Swapna?” he asked. Asserting that HRDS has no links with the RSS, Aji said he and his brother Biju were active in the SFI during their college days. They left the CPM along with K R Gowri.“Some staff including former administrator Gayathri Varma have left the organisation. We came to know they were influenced and offered money by some people. They sent their resignation by emails,” he said.
SWAPNA ALLEGES ADGP SPENT 4 HRS WITH SHAJ
KOCHI: SWAPNA Suresh, a key accused in the gold smuggling case, claimed on Monday that ADGP Vijay Sakhare had spent more than four hours with former journalist Shaj Kiran in an attempt to make her withdraw her statement against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family. “Police are after me. They are collecting details about where I go and whom I meet. ADGP (Vigilance) M R Ajith Kumar has made some 36 calls to Shaj. ADGP Vijay Sakhare spent some four to five hours with Shaj after which he came to my office. After this, will the Kerala Police protect me? I dont think so,” she told reporters here after meeting her lawyer R Krishna Raj.