The Nilgiris unit of the Crime Branch CID (CB-CID) registered a case against 19 persons including three bishops on charge of usurping Rs. 7.95 crore of the CSI Coimbatore Diocese and its engineering college at Ketti near Ooty, between May 1, 2012, and April 30, 2013.
The case was registered on Monday based on a direction from the Madras High Court to the Additional Director General of Police CB-CID, Chennai.
The first information report states that the case has been registered based on five scams as per the complainant E. Premkumar of Perundurai. Charges included usurping of Rs. 4.81 crore by the accused in construction of a building for the engineering college at Ketti - without supporting bills and no mention in the audit statement about Rs 1.97 crore given to CSI Coimbatore diocese was the second charge.
Persons against whom the case was registered include Thomas K. Oommen, Deputy Moderator and Bishop in Madhya Kerala (who was the Moderator Commissary of Coimbatore Diocese at that time), Bishop in Kanyakumari G. Devakadasham (who was the moderator of CSI and Bishop in-charge of Coimbatore Diocese) and the Bishop in Coimbatore Timothy Ravinder.
The rest are the then principal of the engineering college in Ooty, the then 14 administrative committee members of Coimbatore Diocese and a property officer of the diocese. CB-CID sources said that inquiries were under way and further course of action would be initiated after perusal of records.
