Bank accounts linked to Kerala prisons DIG received Rs 1.5 crore last year: Vigilance
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has filed a report with the state government, seeking tougher action against Prisons Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) M K Vinod Kumar, against whom the state government agency has filed a case for corruption. The officer, who is set to retire next year, has been accused of receiving kickbacks from inmates to help them get parole and facilitating their illegal acts within the prison, including smuggling of drugs and alcohol. The report, sources said, has searing remarks against the officer and mentioned about the large volume of cash transactions via bank accounts of the officer and his wife, who is a homemaker. In the last one year, the two accounts collectively received about Rs1.5 crore. The vigilance conducted a preliminary inquiry against the officer on the basis of intelligence reports, which indicated widespread irregularities on the part of the officer. Sources said he had received varying amounts of cash from inmates for extending their parole periods as well as facilitating smuggling of contraband to the prisons. A strong CPM sympathiser, Vinod grew close to the party leadership following an incident in Viyyur high security prison in 2014 when nine convicts in the T P Chandrasekharan murder case were allegedly tortured there, highly-placed sources told TNIE. The officer reportedly kept himself away from the act that was deliberately orchestrated by prison staff as the TP case convicts were brought there from Kannur central prison. This incident brought him into close contact with the party leadership. Strangely, he took kickbacks from the TP murder case accused as well, which sources claimed were for facilitating their drug and alcohol use within the prisons. Sources added that its because of Vinods connections that the prisons department is yet to take any disciplinary action against him. However, with vigilance sending a report flagging grave misconduct from his side and recommending immediate action, the government is all likely to drop the cudgels soon.
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