Thiruvananthapuram: The vigilance has frozen the inquiry over the complaint received against CPM leader and former president of Kannur district panchayat P P Divya. The vigilance is yet to take the statement of the petitioner, even four months after receiving the complaint. Citing technical issues, vigilance authorities also refused to disclose any details of the inquiry it had carried out, even after the complainant raised a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Incidentally, DGP Yogesh Gupta was removed from the post of Vigilance Director while the department was conducting a probe based on the complaint. Currently, Manoj Abraham is holding the post, and there were allegations that Gupta was replaced after the vigilance decided to carry out an enquiry against Divya.

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The complaint, filed with the vigilance by KSU state vice-president Muhammed Shammas, alleged that during her term as Kannur district panchayat president, Divya had diverted crores of rupees belonging to the local body to a ‘benami’ company. The complaint also said that the company’s director and Divya’s husband purchased around four acres of land at Palakkayam Thattu, a tourism destination in Kannur district. Yet another allegation against Divya was corruption in a deal involving the purchase of land by the panchayat at inflated prices in an area of Kannur town where construction activities were restricted.

Even though the complaint was submitted on February 21, the vigilance did not contact the petitioner even once. On April 19, the petitioner submitted an RTI query seeking the status of his complaint, to which the vigilance replied that follow-up measures were being taken. Further details could not be revealed as the procedures were underway, the vigilance added.

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