Kochi: Land revenue employee suspended for scam

Kochi: Arun Kumar, office staff member of the Land Revenue Commissionerate, who is accused of assisting the prime accused Abu in forging the official documents in the alleged Choornikkara land scam case, was suspended on Monday.

The action by the Land Revenue Commissioner was following the arrest of Arun by the police probing the case after they found that Abu had allegedly given the forged documents to Arun who took it inside the commissionerate and stamped the fake order with the office seal of the Land Revenue Commissioner and the seal of a senior superintendent without their knowledge.

Arun had also received an amount of Rs. 30,000 as bribe for forging the documents for converting 71 cents categorised as wetland in revenue records into dry land, according to the police.

Meanwhile, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) team probing the scam is likely to submit the report to the Superintendent of Police, VACB, Central Range, with a recommendation to register an FIR later this week.

The case reportedly may be shifted from the local police to VACB in this regard. The report which is likely to be submitted to the SP will be forwarded to the VACB director. Sources said that an official sanction for taking over the case is likely to be issued by the director following which the VACB will re-register the case in consultation with the government.

So far, two persons - Abootty aka Abu of Sreemoolanagaram near Kalady and Arun of Karamana in Thiruvananthapuram - were arrested in connection with the case. They are currently in judicial custody.Meanwhile, the police are yet to arraign land owner Hamza and his family as accused, as they are verifying their role in the case.