Palakkad, Feb 17 (IANS) BJP workers on Monday staged a protest outside the office of the state Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty over the alleged Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund scam.
The protesters have alleged that an office staff attached to the minister’s office has been asking people to join a scheme that was promoted by Anandhu Krishnan (26) who allegedly lured victims by promising high-value products like scooters, laptops, and sewing machines at half the market price.
They alleged that Krishnan’s aggressive promotional campaigns convinced many to invest their savings in what appeared to be an attractive deal.
“Krishnan was able to recruit numerous people as agents and offered them a sum for each business that was bought by the agent,” they claimed.
The protesters who marched towards the office of Krishnankutty demanded he step down as minister after an agent associated with the scam in Palakkad district was a member of his staff.
Kerala BJP has alleged that there is a Rs 1,000 crore Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund scam in the state while more cases have been registered across the state.
Krishnankutty has denied all the allegations terming them as ‘baseless’.
On Monday, Krishnan whose judicial custody had ended was produced in a court in Ernakulam district. The police probe team asked for five days custody however the court only granted them two days custody.
The police probe team informed the court that Krishnan had 21 bank accounts and in 11 of his accounts Rs 548 crores worth transactions took place.
It was also found out that he had collected Rs 143.50 crores from close to 25,000 people and promised to pay two-wheelers at half the market price.
The probe team is yet to ascertain where this money has now vanished and informed the court that these are all the preliminary findings and require more time for the probe.
The Crime Branch wing of the Kerala Police is probing the case and has registered more than 500 cases of cheating.
–IANS
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