KOZHIKODE: Muslim League leader and former MLA K M Shaji moved the court to get the money of Rs 47 lakh back seized by the vigilance from his house in Kannur. Shaji is of the stand that the seized money is election fund. The court will consider his plea today. However, the vigilance is of the stance that returning the money will affect the case of attaining property illegally. The vigilance investigation is in the case of accepting a bribe of Rs 25 lakh to grant plus two to Azhikode school.

The investigation revealed that Shaji built a house at Vengeri village in Kozhikode in the name of his wife Asha using this bribe money. The property worth Rs 25 lakh, including this house, was later confiscated by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

A former leader of the Muslim League first raised the allegation that in 2016, when he was the MLA of Azhikode, Shaji collected a bribe of Rs 25 lakh to sanction plus two at a school in Azhikode. The ED probe revealed that a bribe was taken from a teacher of the school, who later got a permanent appointment in the same school.