Kerala Health Minister Veena George has strongly defended her personal staff member, Akhil Mathew, who faces allegations of accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh in exchange for a job offer at the Ayush Kendra. The accusations stem from a startling revelation made by Haridasan Kummali, a native of Malappuram, who disclosed to the media that he paid sums of Rs 1 lakh to the minister’s staff and Rs 75,000 to Pathanamthitta CITU leader Akhil Sajeev. These payments were intended to secure a temporary job for his daughter-in-law, Dr. Nitha Raj, at Ayush Kendra.
In response to the allegations, Veena George vehemently denied any wrongdoing, labeling them as false. She stated, “An investigation will be conducted into who is behind such fake allegations.”
Haridasan explained that the sequence of events began when his daughter-in-law applied for a position following a call for applications by the National Ayush Mission. Akhil, who served as the Pathanamthitta CITU office secretary, informed them that applying or taking tests would be futile, as appointments were under their control. He suggested a payment of Rs 15 lakh, divided into Rs 5 lakh upfront and Rs 10 lakh after three years when the position became permanent, to secure the job.
Haridasan initiated a wire transfer of Rs 25,000 to Akhil. Subsequently, he traveled to Thiruvananthapuram on April 10, meeting Akhil Sajeev near an auto stand, where he handed over Rs 1 lakh. He was also informed that Akhil Mathew had ties to the minister.
Despite receiving an appointment order in the mail indicating that Dr. Nita would be placed at Chetana Hospital in Vandur, Haridasan stated that they neither received the promised order nor secured the job.
Upon filing a complaint with the minister’s office, Haridasan was instructed to submit it in writing. The health minister’s office has reported that they have forwarded a complaint against Haridasan to the DGP.
Post Your Comments