Kochi: The police will investigate the complaint from a young woman that she was threatened by social activists for not allowing them to handle the large sum of money she had received in her bank account through donations for the treatment of her mother, IG Vijay Sakhare has said.
Varsha, a native of Taliparamba in Kannur, received Rs 1.5 crore in her account after she appealed for financial aid for the treatment of her mother admitted in a private hospital in Ernakulam.
She has alleged that Feroze Kunnamparambil and a few other social activists had threatened her for not letting them handle the money.
An FIR has been registered on the basis of Varsha's complaint and an inquiry has been started, Sakhare said. The police will look into details such as who sent money to the account, he said.
Four social activists — Feroze Kunnamparambil, Sajan Kechery, Salam and Shahid — had helped Varsha raise the money. The Cheranalloor police have registered a case against the four for allegedly threatening her and putting defamatory posts on social media against her when she refused to allow them to handle the money.
The IG said the police will also look into the last financial transactions of the accused. They will also see if there have been any previous complaints against them.
It cannot be called a hawala transaction just because the money came through the banking channel. But the police will collect all the details about the transactions, he said.
The IG said there will also be an investigation into the girl’s complaint that she was badly portrayed and defamed on social media.
Fundraising through crowdsourcing and social media is a recent trend. The accused say that they have raised money similarly in the past to help people.
The IG said the investigation will look into all aspects of the case before proceeding further. No special team has been formed for the case, he said.
In a video, Sajan Kecheri has claimed that Rs 60 lakh of the over Rs 1.5 crore received in Varsha’s bank account was donated by a person as an aid for a charitable trust. However, the police have not been able to confirm this claim.
They said the bank account is currently frozen and, therefore, they could not collect its statement.
The investigation will also look if black money is involved in the case, DCP G Poonguzhali said. Such a large amount getting deposited in the account in a short span of time has given rise to suspicion, she said. The police will examine if there was any other unauthorised involvement in the case, Poonguzhali said.