Former GCDA Chairman and Congress leader N Venugopal arrested in theft case

N Venugopal was arrested and released on bail in a case of valuables missing from the official residence of the GDCA chairman.
Venugopal, former GCDA chairman, Kochi
Venugopal, former GCDA chairman, Kochi
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N Venugopal, a Congress leader and a former Chairman of the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) has been arrested by the Kadavanthra police in Kochi in a theft case. 

The alleged crime occurred when N Venugopal was the chairman of the GCDA. The arrest happened on Saturday, nearly four years after valuables worth over Rs 1.40 lakh were reported missing from the official residence of the chairman of the GCDA. 

GCDA Assistant Engineer (Civil) EK Shyni, Former Assistant Executive Engineers Mohanadasan and Dileep Gopalakrishnan have also been arrested in a connection with the case. 

Venugopal is also a former general secretary of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). 

Venugopal, when he was the GCDA Chairman, had renovated the government guest house which is the chairman’s official residence for which furniture of Rs 50 lakh was bought. 

GCDA Secretary MC Joseph had filed a complaint when some of the valuables went missing from the guest house in January 2017 once Venugopal’s tenure was over. 

A nominee of the United Democratic Front, he stepped down as chairman in 2016 with the change of guard in the state.

"The complaint was received in 2017 and we have been verifying the facts," an officer of  the Kadavanthra Police Station told TNM.

"The furniture was bought for Rs 50 lakh but the furniture that was missing was to the tune of Rs 1.4 lakh. Out this furniture, 40000 was found from a fishing farm at Mudanvelil. There has been no authorisation to shift the furniture so," the officer added.

Venugopal has been booked under sections 403- dishonest misappropriation of property, 408 criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant and 34 -acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention of the IPC. 

The engineers have been booked under section 408. The accused had got anticipatory bail. 

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