Najeeb Kanthapuram, Perinthalmanna MLA, against whom the police reportedly registered a case following a complaint by one of the victims of a scam connected with fake corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, has refuted allegations of his involvement.
He said on Saturday (February 8) that the allegations against him were politically motivated and promised to adopt legal measures to help the victims of the scam to regain their lost money.
Mr. Kanthapuram said that the police should go after the perpetrators of the scam instead of harassing the victims. He claimed that both he and Mudra Charitable Foundation (MCF), a non-governmental organisation operating from his office, were equally deceived by the CSR scammers. “We all lost money, but my concern is for the poor people who contributed, trusting us. We will ensure they get their money back,” he added.
The MLA said that they had given receipts to all stakeholders.
Mr. Kanthapuram said that Education Minister V. Sivankutty had urged him to accept the offers from National NGO Confederation, led by Anandu Krishnan, who had reportedly deceived people by falsely promising scooters and laptops at half the price through CSR funds.
“In 2023, Minister Sivankutty inaugurated the NGO office. He praised the NGO, asked me to expand its work, and assured me that he had full faith in Anandu,” said Mr. Kanthapuram.
The police on Friday registered a case against Mr. Kanthapuram and his secretary based on a complaint by a woman who had reportedly paid ₹21,000 on September 25 last year for a laptop. According to the complaint, she had reportedly not received the laptop or the refund even after 40 days.
Mr. Kanthapuram too filed a police complaint against the functionaries of the National NGO Confederation for the scam. He alleged that ₹1.88 crore had been swindled from MCF through false promises of laptops, two-wheelers, and sewing machines.
“It is the failure of the government and its intelligence agencies,” he said.
Demanding his resignation, the DYFI took out a march and vandalised Mr. Kanthapuram’s office on Friday (February 7). P. Sarin, who recently quit the Congress to join the CPI(M), was reportedly among the first to raise allegations against Mr. Kanthapuram.
