Kerala: Former panchayat secretary sentenced to 10 years in prison for forgery of bill worth over Rs 70000

According to the case registered by the vigilance, the money was obtained by using fake receipts for the purchase of farm equipment from the Regional Agro-Industrial Development Corporation of Kerala Limited in Pathanamthitta.

Kottayam: A former panchayat secretary has been sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 95,000 in the case of fraudulent purchase of goods. The Kottayam Vigilance Court convicted R Sreekumar, who was the secretary of Mundakayam Gram Panchayat in Kottayam district. The vigilance court sentenced the accused to rigorous imprisonment of two years for each of the five sections. 

The incident related to this happened in 2008. According to the charge sheet, a total of Rs 72,822 was stolen from June 2018 to August 2018. The manipulation took place in the purchase of agricultural equipment for the employment guarantee scheme. According to the case registered by the vigilance, the money was obtained by using fake receipts for the purchase of farm equipment from the Regional Agro-Industrial Development Corporation of Kerala Limited in Pathanamthitta.

The Kottayam vigilance unit registered, investigated, and filed a chargesheet in the case.  Kottayam Vigilance DYSP P. Krishna Kumar registered the case and Vigilance Inspectors Ammini Kuttan, K.A. Ramesan, R. Madhu and, Saju Varghese conducted a detailed investigation into the incident. Kottayam Vigilance DYSP S. Suresh Kumar filed the charge sheet.

The verdict said that although 10 years have been awarded in different departments, it is enough to serve the punishment together. The Vigilance Public Prosecutor Raj Mohan R Pillai appeared for the prosecution.