KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet in the Thiruvananthapuram Karakonam Dr Somervell Medical College corruption case by naming CSI Church Moderator Bishop Dharmaraj Rasalam as the second accused and Dr Bennett Abraham, Director of the Medical College as the third accused. The Medical College is the first accused in the case. Church's former secretary TT Praveen is the fourth accused.

According to the charge sheet filed in the special court in Ernakulam, the accused laundered black money of 7.22 crores, smuggled a large amount of bribe for admission to medical college and violated foreign exchange rules.

The money was received from the parents of 28 students. Three crores were handed over to the parish. The bribe was received on the instructions of Bishop Dharmaraj Rasalam. Bennett Abraham was directly involved in this. When a complaint was raised, the college authorities tried to settle the issue by returning 6.27 crores. The ED informed the court that the investigation would continue into the money being used for other purposes. The complaint was filed by students who did not get admission despite paying the money.

The ED took over the case in 2022. The High Court had quashed the charge sheet filed by the crime branch giving a clean chit to Bishop Rasalam and Bennett. ED had again questioned Bennett Abraham and TT Praveen after the Lok Sabha elections. During the investigation, the ED had seized Rs 95 lakh from the college's account. The bishop was also sent back from the airport when he tried to leave the country. Dr Bennett Abraham was the LDF candidate in Thiruvananthapuram in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.