Congress leader arrested in fund misappropriation case in Kozhikode

Kozhikode: The Crime Branch on Friday arrested former District Congress Committee (DCC) secretary Sudheer Kumar in connection with the alleged misappropriation of funds in the Kadathanad Labour Contract Cooperative Society at Vadakara.

One month ago, an investor had taken his own life in front of the house of Sudheer Kumar in Thiruvallur near Vadakara, alleging that he and his sister's children were persuaded to invest money with promises of high returns. The death of 71-year-old Ibrahim Kutty had triggered a Crime Branch investigation into the alleged financial irregularities in the cooperative society. The society is currently under an administrative committee reportedly controlled by local UDF leaders.

Ibrahim Kutty had deposited ₹6 lakh in the society when Sudheer Kumar was its president. Following Ibrahim Kutty's suicide last month, Sudheer Kumar went into hiding, prompting the registration of a criminal case against him, along with the society's president and another committee member.

Crime Branch officials said Sudheer Kumar was arrested from Chennamangalloor, near Mukkam, while efforts were on to trace the other accused. Investigators suspect that more than ₹2 crore may have been misappropriated from the cooperative society.

The case gained wider attention after an audio message recorded by Ibrahim Kutty surfaced a few days after his death. In the recording, he alleged that he had been assured that his deposits would be returned if he informed the society a week in advance. However, despite urgently requiring the money for hospital expenses, his repeated requests for repayment were allegedly ignored.

In the audio clip, Ibrahim Kutty also levelled serious allegations against Sudheer Kumar, claiming that whenever he demanded his money back, Sudheer denied having received any deposits from him.

He also alleged that an attempt had been made on his life. According to Ibrahim Kutty, a man identified as Basheer deliberately rammed him with a SUV near the Vadakara Magistrate Court with the intention of killing him.

Ibrahim Kutty also claimed that ₹75 lakh was due to him and said he had submitted a complaint to the Chief Minister's Office detailing the alleged financial fraud. In the audio recording, he held the society's president and secretary responsible if anything were to happen to him.