“A Vigilance Court Orders Preliminary Inquiry into Alleged Corruption at Mukkom Service Cooperative Bank,” reads the headline. The court’s directive came in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the former director of the bank and former UDF mandalam president N P Shamsudheen. Shamsudheen claims, “Three governing board members conspired and meddled in the recruitment process to hire candidates they favored,” alleging that bribes ranging from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh were accepted by these members.
The litigation also contends that former bank president T K Sharafudheen and former directors O K Byju and AM Abdulla created vacancies through promotions against service rules, exceeded hiring quotas, and spent money to regularize temporary recruits. The lawsuit seeks to recover the amount lost by the bank due to recruitment irregularities from the accused.
Currently, the bank is administered by senior cooperative inspector T Shoukath after the director board’s dismissal in 2022 due to cases filed by candidates and A-class members of the bank in the High Court. The joint registrar conducted an inquiry, which led to the dismissal of the director board on July 19, 2023.
In response to these allegations and legal actions, the UDF district committee has formed a core group to investigate the matter and take appropriate actions.
Meanwhile, a separate inquiry is ongoing regarding alleged irregularities in the construction of the bank’s head office building.
O K Baiju, one of the accused, refutes the allegations, stating, “Shamsudheen wanted to be the bank president, but his efforts were in vain. Hence, he has decided to take it out on us and is now leveling baseless allegations.”
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