Fraud worth lakhs in Kerala Traders' Welfare Board; police register case

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A fraud worth several lakhs has occurred in the Kerala Traders' Welfare Board (Vyapari Kshemanidhi Board). According to the report, senior clerk D Rameshan (52) has absconded after swindling lakhs of money from the Board's office in Powerhouse Road, Thiruvananthapuram. During the first round of inspection, it was found that Rameshan had swindled nearly Rs 15 lakhs from the Board. The money defrauded by the accused includes membership fees, welfare pension fund, and gratuity to the traders who are members of the board. According to the police, Rameshan took this money without depositing it in the bank.

Rameshan absconded soon after the irregularities came to light. The Fort police have registered a case and initiated an investigation on the complaint lodged by the Board against Ramesh.

The police said that Rameshan had been committing the fraud for nearly six years. Rameshan was the one who used to receive the amount paid by the members to the Board. According to the police, Rameshan took advantage of the situation when the Board did not have a Chief Executive Officer for some time. Rameshan used to deal with matters such as dues, membership fees for new members and pensions. It is estimated that the accused had swindled at least Rs 50 lakhs in six years. The Accounts General Department is conducting an inspection in this regard. The audit report will be out within a week.

The Kerala Traders' Welfare Board has written to the government demanding a Vigilance investigation into the fraud. The government may hand over the case to the Vigilance after receiving the audit report.