Kerala: Fraud allegations rock CPM-governed Karadka Agriculturist Cooperative Society; Secretary at large

Fraud allegations have surfaced at the Karadka Agriculturist Welfare Cooperative Society, with its secretary accused of embezzling crores of rupees. The accused, K Ratheesan, is reportedly at large.   

Kasaragaod: The secretary of the Karadka Agriculturist Welfare Cooperative Society, located in Mulleria in Kasaragod district and under the jurisdiction of the CPM party, is accused of committing fraud amounting to crores. The accused, K Ratheesan (38), who is also a member of the Mulleria local committee, is currently evading authorities. An inquiry has been proposed following irregularities totaling Rs 4.76 crore discovered during an inspection conducted by the cooperative department.

The cooperative inspector uncovered that Rs 1.79 crore was siphoned off in multiple stages, followed by Rs 2 crore withdrawn through Cash Credit (CC) loans provided to cooperative societies via Kerala Bank, and Rs 1.13 crore obtained through gold mortgages. An inspection conducted on April 30 revealed that the gold pledged under Ratheesan's wife and mother's names were missing.

Subsequent investigations unveiled that the funds were embezzled by falsifying gold mortgage loan documents in the names of bank members, with some gold also smuggled out. Documentation for only Rs 1.6 crore of the Rs 3 crore loan provided to the society by Kerala Bank exists, indicating that the remaining Rs 1.94 crore has been transferred elsewhere.

According to reports, as part of real estate investments, he bought land in Wayanad and two flats in Bengaluru and had been cheating for three years. The investigation team is trying to nab Ratheesan who is absconding. He was suspended from the CPM's primary membership.