Former Additional Director General of Police R. Sreelekha IPS (Retd.), who is currently the BJP state vice president and a councillor of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, made a startling allegation on March 14 regarding two CPM MLAs—U. Prathibha Hari and V.K. Prashanth.
Addressing a public meeting organised by the BJP, Sreelekha claimed that senior Congress leader and the then Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan had instructed her to close a corruption case involving CPM leader U. Prathibha Hari. Prathibha is currently the Kayamkulam MLA and had served as the Alappuzha District Panchayat president in 2013.
According to Sreelekha, the allegations against Prathibha were linked to a proposed ‘Gender Park’ project of the Alappuzha District Panchayat. Corruption charges had reportedly surfaced in connection with land acquisition for the project, which involved land worth several crores of rupees.
Sreelekha said she was serving as the Vigilance ADGP at the time when Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan was the Home Minister. She alleged that the minister had once called her to his office to discuss the case related to Prathibha Hari. During the meeting, she claimed, the minister asked her to stop the enquiry into the matter.
The former police officer also pointed out that the case has remained under a stay order from the High Court for the past 12 years. She alleged that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, which has been in power for nearly a decade, has not taken steps to vacate the stay or resume the investigation.
At the same time, she said the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has also not raised the issue either inside or outside the Assembly. According to Sreelekha, the developments indicate what she described as an “unholy nexus” between the LDF and the UDF in matters related to corruption.
The BJP leader further alleged that CPM MLA V.K. Prashanth also faces Vigilance cases in connection with the Vattiyoorkkavu Youth Brigade Enterprises Cooperative Society. However, she added that with the LDF currently in power in the state, the government is unlikely to take action against the leaders concerned.
