Following allegations of corruption at a Church of South India (CSI)-run medical institution at Karakonam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday, July 25, carried out raids against church officials. The ED raided the headquarters of the CSI South Kerala diocese which houses the office of Bishop A Dharmaraj Rasalam. The Bishop was among those booked by the Kerala police for allegedly collecting huge amounts of money from students, promising them a medical seat at the Dr Somervell Memorial CSI Medical College in Karakonam, which is run by the church.
Simultaneous raids were also being carried out at the residences of Church's secretary TT Praveen, along with former director Dr Bennet Abraham of the CSI Memorial Medical College. Abraham rose to prominence after the Communist Party of India (CPI) pitted him against Shashi Tharoor in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. However, he finished a poor third. This brought allegations that the CPI treated the Thiruvananthapuram seat as a paid one, bringing the party under fire.
According to reports, the Kerala High Court, in July 2020, cancelled the admission of 11 MBBS students who got admission in the college by submitting fake community certificates that were found to be given by Bishop Rasalam. The Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee was also directed by the court to take action against the management in 2019. The panel, headed by R Rajendrababu had recommended criminal proceedings against Rasalam. The panel also recommended steps for the government to take, to refund the exorbitant college fees to students. The panel report was submitted based on the complaints of as many as 24 students, most of whom were from Tamil Nadu, The Hindu reported. The panel also reportedly said that Dr Bennet Abraham and other officials were aware of the corrupt practice, and the report called this an incident of “willful cheating”.