The Kochi city police have launched a probe into the alleged criminal conspiracy to defame Elias George, Managing Director of the Kochi Metro Rail Limited.
According to KG James, Commissioner of police, Kochi, the probe follows a complaint filed by Mr. George against a newspaper and an online news portal for `allegedly’ attempting to defame him.
“The complaint has been forwarded to the cyber cell and preliminary probe to trace the source of this information is on’’, the official said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Commenting on the issue, Elias George said the complaint was filed on Tuesday. The report, which stated Mr. George, a senior IAS officer, along with his wife Aruna Sundararajan, another civil servant, had transported Rs.50 lakh through the Cochin International Airport Limited, about two weeks ago.
The story, which first appeared in a Malayalam daily last week, was reproduced by the online portal on the same day.
“The incident suggests that some unidentified persons are conspiring against us to defame our integrity as civil servants. I have decided to approach the police as this will also affect the credibility of one of the most significant infrastructure projects in the State, which is being implemented under my leadership’’, Mr. George said.
ADVERTISEMENT
He has also written to the Chief Secretary, seeking permission from the State government to file defamation suits against the publications.