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The Vigilance department, probing the alleged misappropriation of golden and wealth successful transportation with the installation of a caller temple emblem mast astatine the Sabarimala shrine successful 2017, has begun signaling statements of sponsors, including movie personalities, officials said connected Sunday.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) launched a preliminary enquiry past week pursuing a absorption from the Kerala High Court based connected a study by the Devaswom Vigilance regarding suspected misappropriation linked to the temple emblem mast project.
VACB sources said 27 radical who had sponsored golden for the emblem mast successful 2017 person been identified.
Statements of astir 10 people, including filmmaker Shaji Kailas, actor-writer Renji Panicker and shaper Suresh Kumar, person already been recorded, an authoritative said.
The remaining sponsors, including MP Suresh Gopi and histrion Mohanlal, volition beryllium questioned aft they hold connected a convenient time, they added.
The VACB squad is collecting details regarding the quantity of golden donated by each sponsor for the emblem mast task successful 2017, officials said.
VACB is besides looking into whether much sponsors donated golden oregon wealth for the emblem mast.
On February 9, the Kerala High Court granted the VACB 30 days to implicit the enquiry and taxable a report.
A study filed earlier the High Court by the Chief Vigilance Officer of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) stated that successful August 2016, it was decided that the installation of the caller emblem mast would beryllium undertaken wholly astatine the disbursal of Phoenix Infrastructure Pvt Ltd., Hyderabad.
An estimation of ₹3.20 crore submitted by the Devaswom Chief Engineer was approved by the Board connected September 23, 2016, the study said.
The study further revealed that 9.161 kilograms of golden were purchased from the Customs section connected March 22, 2017, and 412 grams of golden were contributed by devotees for the project.
“Thus, the full quantity of golden available, including Customs acquisition and donations, was 9,573.010 grams, whereas the quantity recorded arsenic utilised for the emblem mast was 9,340.200 grams,” the High Court observed.
The tribunal besides noted that the lack of idiosyncratic donor receipts deprived donors of documentary impervious of accounting, constituting a superior procedural lapse and a sedate usurpation of Devaswom Rules and fiscal accountability norms.
The probe is being conducted by a squad led by VACB Special Investigation Unit-1 SP C.S. Hari.
A lawsuit would beryllium registered astatine the absorption of the Kerala High Court aft completing the preliminary enquiry and filing of the report, officials added.
