Scaling up his attack on the State government over the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala here on Monday demanded a comprehensive probe by any Central agencies or a judicial commission into the alleged missing of ammunition and diversion of funds.
Addressing mediapersons, Mr. Chennithala said the CAG report revealed a ‘scam of unparalleled magnitude’ and accused the CPI(M) leadership of covering it up.
“The CAG report clearly states that the purchases made by the Kerala Police were done without meeting the Store Purchase Manual and the guidelines of the Central Vigilance Commission.
As per estimates given by this government eight months ago, the overall purchases made by the force since the taking over of Loknath Behera as State Police Chief alone stood around ₹151 crore,” Mr. Chennithala said.
Unearthing fraud
For instance, the CAG report had unearthed a huge fraud in the purchase of security equipment through Keltron, causing the State exchequer a loss of up to ₹1.5 crore.
Similarly, a recent move by this government to raise the ceiling on the modernisation expenditure of the State Police Chief from ₹2 crore to ₹5 crore had raised suspicions, he said.
Missing ammunition
Mr. Chennithala said the missing of ammunition from the police armoury and the entry of a private company to the police headquarters in the guise of the CIMS project also cast concerns on national security.
“The government should clarify under what circumstances it roped in a company like Galxion, which began its operations as late as 2017 with a paid up capital of ₹10 lakh,” Mr. Chennithala asked.
Purchase of vehicles
Mr. Chennithala sought to question the purchase of 200 vehicles by the police allegedly in connivance with a private party. “While the norms set by the Union government stipulate the sale of vehicles adhering to the BS6 Emission norms since April 1 this year, this government purchased a fleet of 200 vehicles that belong to the BS4 Emission class.
The alleged intention behind this bulk purchase, made in haste, is to help a private firm,” he added.
