Fresh salvo against Vigilance chief Jacob Thomas

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a fresh salvo against Vigilance chief Jacob Thomas, a person  has sent a petition to the government raising suspicion whether Mr. Thomas repaid the remuneration he received from private employment.  He also sought  a probe into the matter. It may be recalled that Mr. Jacob had allegedly violated service rules by taking up employment at the TKM Institute of Management and obtaining  Rs 8.47 lakh  in 2009 without government sanction. But the government dropped punitive action against him on the grounds that he repaid the amount to the government.

According to a petition filed by Kannur native Sathyan Naravoor to the chief secretary, a letter from the TKM Institute to the Vigilance dated October 2, 2011 said that the issue regarding remuneration of  Mr Jacob Thomas was settled. But the government needed to confirm whether the amount was actually repaid to it since there were suspicions in this regard. Hence the Kollam district collector may be directed to verify the matter, he said.

Mr. Thomas was not available for his comments regarding the allegations. Meanwhile, the petitioner also sent a letter to the Chief Vigilance Commissioner seeking a whistle-blower protection as he feared that Mr. Thomas was trying to falsely implicate him in cases. A petition filed by Mr Sathyan Naravoor seeking a CBI probe into the allegation that Mr. Thomas took up private employment without government sanction is  pending with the High Court.