: Two senior officials of Kerala State Cooperative Consumers Federation Ltd (Consumerfed), M. Shaji, business manager in Pathanamthitta (at present on leave), and R. Jayakumar, regional manager in Alappuzha, were on Monday suspended from service, pending inquiry, in connection with financial irregularities in the Neethi-Nanma divisions of the federation during 2012-14.
The suspension order was issued by Consumerfed managing director Tomin J. Thachankary.
Mr. Thachankary’s order said a special investigation team had found serious financial irregularities at the Neethi distribution centre in Kollam during 2012-14 when Mr. Shaji was the regional manager. In a circular on December 22, 2012, the Consumerfed MD had entrusted Mr. Shaji, who was senior manager, with the task of procuring vegetables for the federation. The circular had specified that vegetables be purchased directly from places outside the State such as Coimbatore, Udhagamandalam, Mettuppalayam, Ottachathram, Mysuru, Pune, etc., and its payment be strictly made from the federation head office.
The charge memo served on Mr. Shaji said the investigation team found that he had purchased vegetables worth lakhs of rupees through an agency in Kollam, N.R. Vegetables. Mr. Shaji made the payment by cheque (Rs.10,81,591) to the private agency, in violation of the directives specified in the circular. The memo said the investigation team had reported that N.R. Vegetables was owned by Mr. Shaji’s brother.
The memo said of the total purchase of Rs.8.03 crore during 2012-13, vegetables costing Rs.5 crore were bought from N.R. Vegetables, besides various other suspicious bill payments.
The suspension of Mr. Jayakumar was on the basis of alleged extravagance and financial irregularities detected by the special investigation team during his tenure as chief manager of the Neethi-Nanma division of Consumerfed from 2011-12 to 2014-15. The memo said the investigation team had seized bills of lakhs of rupees incurred on travel, food, accommodation, conducting conferences, purchasing home appliances, etc.
The order said P.K. Rajesh had been appointed regional manager in charge in Alappuzha in place of Mr. Jayakumar.
