The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has chargesheeted the Good Samaritan Project India (GSPI), the Catholic Reformation Literature Society (CRLS), and four individuals for allegedly violating the provisions of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and misappropriation of tsunami funds. They have also been accused of criminal breach of trust.
While the GSPI, represented by its chairman K.P. Philip, has been arraigned as the first accused, the CRLS, represented by its chairman Thomas Abraham Kallivayalil, has been named as the second accused. Mr. Philip and Mr. Kallivayalil have been individually arraigned as the third and fourth accused. Jojo Chandy, the treasurer of both the GSPI and the CRLS, is the fifth accused and Malayalam writer Paul Zacharia, the secretary of the society, is the sixth accused.
43 charges
The investigation agency has recorded 43 charges in the chargesheet. The chargesheet, which was submitted at the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Thiruvananthapuram, has accused the GSPI of misappropriating tsunami funds and transferring around ₹19 lakh to its capital fund and making false statements regarding the funds in its annual finance statement.
The GSPL and the CRLS had executed charitable and religious projects of the Dutch firm, Woorden Daad (WD), a Christian religious and charitable organisation, in Kerala.
Violation of agreement
The society, according to the chargesheet, misused the ₹1.07 crore meant for the construction of a residential school for street children. The school was illegally launched without the approval of the authorities. The property purchased for the school was sold for ₹3.29 crore. The closing down of the school and selling of the property was done unilaterally and in violation of the bilateral agreement, according to the CBI.
The CBI said both the agencies were receiving foreign contribution even after the cancellation of its FCRA registration. The two agencies also submitted false statements regarding the utilisation of foreign contribution. The GSPI utilised the foreign contribution for the purposes other than for which it was donated, according to the CBI.
