Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Minister accused of another scam

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Congress (Secular) leader P.C. George, MLA, has accused the Public Works Minister T.U. Kuruvilla of fraudulently taken possession of 275 acres of land at Theni in Tamil Nadu belonging to a Muslim family of Edavannappara in Malappuram district.

Mr. George told a news conference here on Saturday that Mr. Kuruvilla had bought the land, originally belonging to the minor children of C. Mohammed of Edavannappara in 2000, in his own and his family members’ names and refused to pay the full price to Mohammed or his family members despite their repeated efforts. The deal was struck when Mr. Kuruvilla was the chairman of the Kerala State Housing Board (KSHB).

Although Mohammed’s son had approached Mr. Kuruvilla seeking full compensation for the land and the house and trees in the property, Mr. Kuruvilla had refused to do so, Mr. George alleged.

Mr. George, who was accompanied to the news conference by Mohammed’s son and son-in-law, also distributed copies of a letter purportedly written by Mohammed to Mr. Kuruvilla, requesting him to pay the remaining sum of overice of the house located on the 200-acre land in question, furniture and the trees on the property.

The letter, dated August 16, 2002, also pleads with Mr. Kuruvilla not to withhold the money due to him on the ground that he (Mr. Mohammed) had not honoured his word to procure a nearby estate for Mr. Kuruvilla.

Mr. George alleged that Mohammed had died a heartbroken man following Mr. Kuruvilla’s refusal to give him the money. Mohammed’s son Shahir said he had approached Mr. Kuruvilla after his father’s death on several occasions and even after Mr. Kuruvilla became a Minister, but in vain.

Once he was asked to sign a paper on the promise that he would be given the money, but Mr. Kuruvilla reneged on his promise citing that minors’ rights on the property had been surrendered.

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