Vigilance orders probe against Chandy, 8 others

‘ILLEGAL APPOINTMENTS’

THE VIGILANCE Court here on Friday ordered a probe against former chief minister Oommen Chandy and eight other UDF leaders in connection with the alleged illegal appointment of their relatives in various departments during the previous UDF regime.

The court asked the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau to submit a preliminary probe report on February 6, 2017. Based on the preliminary report, the court would decide on the future course of action, including whether a case should be registered against the nine.

Petitioner A H Hafeez, who is from Thiruvananthapuram, in his complaint alleged that Chandy, former ministers Anoop Jacob, V S Sivakumar, P K Jayalakshmi, K C Joseph and K M Mani had appointed their relatives or family members of their aides in various departments while flouting norms. Other UDF leaders arraigned as respondents in the petition include Congress legislator M Vincent, ex-mlas R Selvaraj and Ummer Master.

The petitioner alleged that those who were appointed on the basis of political consideration did not meet the eligibility criteria.

CPM leader E P Jayarajan had recently been forced to quit as Industries Minister over the appointment of two of his close relatives as senior officials of public sector undertakings.