Money did not reach Satheesan's account; no evidence against Opposition Leader, says Vigilance report

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vigilance has stated in its report that the Opposition Leader has no role in the alleged irregularities related to the fund collection for the Punarjani project. This was mentioned in a letter submitted by the DIG to the Vigilance Director in September last year. The report clearly says that no money was found to have been credited to the account of V D Satheesan. It also states that no offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act could be established against him.

The details of the letter handed over in September have now come out at a time when there were rumours that the Vigilance had recommended a CBI probe against V D Satheesan in connection with the Punarjani project. The letter highlights four main points related to the project. The first is that no funds linked to the project were found to have reached the account of the Opposition Leader.

The second point says that no investigation was conducted into the allegation that Satheesan bought property after a foreign visit, as this was not mentioned in the complaint. The third point states that the Punarjani funds were handled by a voluntary organisation called the Manappad Foundation. The Vigilance also clarified that there is no evidence to show that Satheesan handled the funds. Finally, the letter states that Satheesan was not found to have committed any offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.