The Kozhikode Vigilance Inquiry Commissioner and Special Judge has ordered a probe into a complaint that Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) legislator K.M. Shaji amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Special Judge K.V. Jayakumar on Monday asked the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau (VACB) Superintendent of Police to conduct a preliminary inquiry on the complaint that Mr. Shaji had managed to accumulate wealth, including owning a house estimated at ₹1.62 crore in Kozhikode city.
The complaint, filed by social worker and lawyer M.R. Hareesh, alleged that Mr. Shaji had misused his official position and obtained huge funds from abroad. Also he had purchased land and vehicles in benami transactions, it was alleged.
The VACB had already registered an FIR at the Thalassery court stating that Mr. Shaji had allegedly taken a bribe of ₹25 lakh for allotting Plus Two courses in an aided school in his Assembly segment, Azhikode, in 2014.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kozhikode on Monday recorded the statement of K.M. Asha, wife of Mr. Shaji, in connection with the case.
The ED is probing the case registered based on the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The case was that Plus Two courses were sanctioned after collecting a bribe from the management. The statement of Mr. Shaji will be taken on Tuesday.
