Thiruvananthapuram: Two former employees of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation have been jailed for 12 years for the fraud of approximately Rs 15.45 lakh in unemployment wages distribution.
The convicted are PL Jeevan and Sadashivan Nair, who held positions as clerks in the accounts and health departments, respectively. The Vigilance Inquiry Commissioner and Special Judge MV Rajkumar also ordered the recovery of a total fine of Rs 12.8 lakh from them.
Jeevan, the first accused, was ordered to pay a fine of Rs 6.35 lakh, while Sadashivan Nair was fined Rs 6.45 lakh. Jeevan was transferred to the corporation from the agriculture department, and Nair from the urban affairs department. Both of them have now retired from service.
The Vigilance Special Investigation Unit (1) registered a case based on allegations of fraud in the distribution of unemployment stipends during 2005-06. The investigation revealed that the accused did not deposit the remaining surplus after the distribution of stipends in the treasury from the 20 health circle zones in the corporation.