Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s clean chit to former Kannur district panchayat president P.P. Divya in a complaint alleging benami transactions and corruption has drawn sharp criticism from Kerala Students Union (KSU) State vice-president P. Muhammed Shammas who filed the original complaint.
Replying to a question raised in the Assembly by KPCC president and MLA Sunny Joseph, the Chief Minister said the Kannur Vigilance unit had investigated the complaint and found the allegations against Ms. Divya baseless. However, the government’s response to the Kerala High Court on the same issue appeared contradictory, Mr. Shammas pointed out.
In its affidavit, the government had stated that the Vigilance had sought permission under Section 17(A ) of the Prevention of Corruption Act to proceed further based on its preliminary inquiry, but no decision had yet been taken, he said. The High Court, questioning the delay, had directed the government to decide on granting prosecution sanction within two months.
‘Bid to mislead’
Terming the Chief Minister’s statement in the Assembly an attempt to “sabotage” the Vigilance probe, Mr. Shammas accused the government of misleading both the Assembly and the court. He alleged that Ms. Divya, whom he described as the “Chief Minister’s confidante,” was being protected to prevent the exposure of “benami dealings of several top CPI(M) leaders.”
Mr. Shammas pointed out that the Vigilance had sought permission to proceed under Section 17(A) on July 8, after he approached the High Court. “If the complaint was baseless, why did the Vigilance seek permission to proceed?” he asked.
Addressing a press conference in Kannur on Monday, Mr. Shammas alleged that a ”corruption mafia” involving senior CPI(M) leaders was being shielded. “The big sharks will be exposed soon,” he said, adding that more evidence linking top leaders to benami deals will be released in the coming days.
Published – October 06, 2025 05:34 pm IST
