MALAPPURAM: In the case of bribery related to health department appointments, Basith has been taken into police custody. Haridasan, the person who filed the complaint informed the police that Basith had threatened him and falsely implicated the Health Minister's office in the bribery case. Following this statement, Thiruvananthapuram Cantonment Police apprehended Basit from his residence in Mancheri, Malappuram.

During the interrogation conducted yesterday, complainant Haridasan admitted that he did not give money to Akhil Mathew as previously claimed. Haridasan had earlier testified that Basith had assured him that there would be no investigation if he refrained from mentioning the Minister's Personal Assistant. Consequently, the police have now identified Basith as the mastermind behind the recruitment bribery scheme.

Basith is scheduled to be transported to Thiruvananthapuram for further questioning tomorrow during which he will be interrogated alongside Haridasan. Haridasan informed the authorities that he had submitted an application on behalf of his daughter-in-law and had paid a sum of one lakh rupees. He also stated that he gave 25,000 rupees to Akhil Sajeev and 50,000 rupees to Len. Haridasan further revealed that he was taken to the secretariat with the promise of access to the Minister's office only to be returned without gaining entry.