The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will soon initiate steps to arraign Uthup Varghese, owner of Al Zarafa Travel and Manpower Consultancy, Kochi, as an accused in the Kuwait nurses’ recruitment scam.
According to officials, a report seeking permission in this regard will be filed before the Ernakulam CBI Special Court later this week. “After that, the agency will also procure a non-bailable arrest warrant against him,’’ they said, adding that the agency was initiating steps to bring Mr. Uthup, who is believed to be in Kuwait, back to Kerala.
As part of forcing his return, the agency might also seek the help of Interpol, among others.
Look-out circular
The CBI had asked Mr. Uthup to appear before the agency by Monday. In view of his failure to adhere to the order, the agency is also looking at issuing a lookout circular against him to make sure that he gets arrested the moment he entered the country from any point.
Meanwhile, the CBI on Monday interrogated L. Adolfus, Protector of Emmigrants (PoE), and the first accused in the case. “The session lasted about three hours and majority of the questions were with regard to his inaction on a complaint given by one of the candidates against the recruitment agency,’’ the sources said.
The agency has already registered a first information report in the scam and arraigned Adolfus as the first accused and the recruitment agency as the second accused.
Raids conducted
As part of the probe, the sleuths had also raided the office and residence of the PoE in Kochi, office of the recruitment agency and the house of Mr. Uthup at Puthupally in Kottayam. They recovered some crucial documents, including agreements, signed by the nurses.
