Malappuram: NDA leader, 3 others held for fraud

Malappuram: Four people, including the state general secretary of Lok Janshakti Party and Kozhikode district convener of National Democratic Alliance, were  arrested in connection with a fraud case at Wandoor  on Tuesday. They were charged with cheating in the name of common service centres, an initiative of the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s Digital India project. The police identified the arrested as  Muhammed Iqbal Khan,  NDA district convener, Mushariparamba Adil, Nanath Unneenkutty and Tumbath Noushad. 

They were remanded by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court,  Perinthalmanna, on Tuesday. The four had enlisted some 40 men, including some Akshya entrepreneurs in the district, in the scheme. They had published advertisements in newspapers last week seeking  applications from educated youngsters to set up the common service centres which are the delivery points of various e-services of the government in rural areas.

The  applicants were invited for  a meeting  at Wandoor tourist bungalow on Monday. The fraud  came to light when the Akhshaya entrepreneurs  questioned the team after they sought Rs 50,000 per centre to clear  the procedures and fetch the approval from the ministry concerned, the police said. The  entrepreneurs pointed out that the  procedures could be  done  without any payment. The fraud attempt was exposed by the police after questioning the culprits.