Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran has ordered a probe into allegations against former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President Prayar Gopalakrishnan and former member Ajay Tharayil for allegedly forging documents to avail certain benefits from the board.
The Devaswom Minister said, “In the first phase, the devaswom vigilance will conduct a preliminary probe and if needed, further investigation will be ordered”, reports TOI.
As per the records, both Prayar Gopalakrishnan and Ajay Tharayil had attended the board meeting on August 16, 2016 and had reportedly sanctioned several works that amounted to Rs 1.15 crore.
The Devaswom authorities also collected evidence of Prayar and Tharayil submitting a travel claim for going to Sabarimala on the same day and they have obtained the travel allowance also according to the records.
The devaswom officials have now asked the vigilance wing to find out and confirm whether they were present at the board meeting or not.
Meanwhile, some government sources have informed that the sanction for the amount Rs 1.15 crore was made by the Devaswom secretary VS Jayakumar in the absence of Prayar and Tharayil. Hence, there will be a probe against Jayakumar as well.
A vigilance official said, “It has to be believed that either the minutes of the board were forged or the travel claim was a forged document. Hence it has to be probed”, the TOI report adds.
The devaswom authorities and officials have also decided to hold a preliminary probe into the meeting held by the board in the last two years.
The government of Kerala had expressed its concern over allegations against the previous devaswom board.
With the new board president taking over and revamping the vigilance devaswom wing, the government is likely to order a comprehensive probe into the matter.