CPM councilor caught on camera demanding Rs 10 lakh bribe, threatens DYFI protest

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A complaint has been filed against a corporation councillor. Sanju of Peyad filed a complaint against CPM councillor Ajin of the Thrikannapuram ward in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. Sanju released the video and phone conversation of Ajin demanding a bribe and threatening him.

Sanju had purchased 19 cents of land near MLA Road in Thrikannapuram ward and was dividing it into plots for sale. Sanju said that after he sold the first two plots, councillor Ajin intervened in the matter. The councillor demanded Rs 10 lakh, claiming that there is puramboke land on the property and offered to help reclassify and sell it.

Sanju also said that some local leaders visited his house and warned that upsetting Ajin would cause trouble, and demanded Rs 5 lakh to settle the issue. Sanju said that he went to meet Ajin at night as instructed, and that he recorded the meeting on his mobile phone.

Ajin asked Sanju to give a share of the huge amount he gets from the sale of the land. Sanju also said that the councillor threatened to have DYFI workers plant a flag on the property otherwise. A phone conversation involving Ajin has also surfaced, in which he purportedly warned that the situation would worsen if Sanju challenged him. He allegedly referred to a canal and drainage channel passing through what is recorded as government land along the road and threatened to stop construction activities on the property on that basis. Sanju has filed a complaint with the home minister in the incident.