Kannur (Keralam), Oct 24 Carton India Alliance Limited MD Muhammad Asif K on Saturday denied allegations that his company was a benami firm of CPI(M) leader and former Kannur district panchayat president P P Divya, against whom the state government recently ordered a vigilance probe.
Speaking to reporters, Asif said KSU leader Mohammed Shammas, who approached the state government with a complaint alleging links between the company and Divya, had been targeting him for the past three years.
Asif said Shammas had approached the Kerala High Court and that the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) had also investigated the allegations earlier.
“The new investigation will be beneficial as it will clear all allegations raised over the past three years. Surely, the investigation should be held. What his intention is behind it is not clear to us,” Asif said.
He said he and his company would fully cooperate with the investigation.
Asif challenged Shammas to prove his allegations, offering to pay him Rs 1 crore if it was established that any contract awarded to his company had been granted without following the tender procedure.
“If it is proven that ours is a benami company and it was involved in any irregularities, I will hand over a cheque for Rs 1 crore to Shammas,” he said.
Asif denied any links or financial transactions between his company and Divya.
He said the Kannur district panchayat had awarded three projects to his company during Divya’s tenure as president and that all procedures had been followed.
His company had secured several projects across Keralam, including government-funded ones, and all had been awarded through the e-tendering process, he said.
The state government has ordered a vigilance probe into alleged irregularities in the award of a construction contract to Carton India without inviting tenders during Divya’s tenure as Kannur district panchayat president.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) will investigate the contract and the assets of Divya and her husband after the government granted permission to initiate the probe under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, officials said.
The complaint filed by Shammas alleged that the company belonged to a benami of Divya. The investigation will cover former Kannur district panchayat secretary Abdul Latheef, officials said.
Divya has faced legal proceedings in connection with the death of Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu in Kannur.
Babu was found dead at his official residence on October 14, 2024, allegedly after Divya made remarks against him at his farewell function.
Police later filed a charge sheet against Divya in a magisterial court for abetment of suicide. She was demoted from the CPI(M) Kannur district committee to a branch committee in November 2024.
Following a recent extended meeting of the CPI(M) district committee, Divya was not included in the district leadership. She subsequently expressed her disappointment in a Facebook post.
On Friday, Divya welcomed the vigilance probe, saying she had nothing to hide and would fully cooperate with the investigation.
(PTI News)
