The Kerala Police Crime Branch on Wednesday arrested four office-bearers of the United Nurses Association (UNA) on the charge of having embezzled funds, an estimated ₹3 crore, from the organisation's coffers.
Director-General of Police Tomin.J. Thachankery said the agency had secured their custody from Thrissur. The CB would seek their custody for questioning. It would produce the accused in front of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thrissur, soon.
The CB identified the arrested persons as Jasmin Shaw, national president of the UNA, Shobi Joseph, State president of the organisation, and Nithin Mohan and Jithu PD, both UNA staff.
The CB had in 2019 declared the accused as fugitives from the law and promulgated lookout notices for them.
It has booked them for criminal breach of trust, forgery, cheating, conspiracy and theft.
Fissures in the organisation had led to the case. The CB had initiated a probe based on a complaint filed by UNA vice-president Sibi Mukesh.
He alleged that the accused had diverted UNA funds for their personal use. In the process, they had denied financial assistance to nurses who had lost their jobs while agitating for reasonable wages.
The CB was also investigation Shaw's wife, Shabna, in connection with the fraud. They said her accountant was used to secrete the funds allegedly embezzled from the coffers of the UNA.
The Kerala High Court had criticised the CB recently for inordinately delaying the probe. It had also turned down a plea by the suspects to quash the case against them.
