The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has reportedly carried out inspections at the South Kerala Diocese of the CSI Church here in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to the Church-run medical college at Karakkonam.
Reportedly, inspections were simultaneously conducted at the office of Bishop Dharmaraj Rasalam next to the Mateer Memorial Church in Thiruvananthapuram city, the Dr. Somervell Memorial CSI Medical College, and the residences of church secretary T. T. Praveen and Bennet Abraham, the director of the medical college.
Inspections by the Enforcement Directorate team from Kochi began on Monday morning, according to reports. The ED action pertained to an alleged admission-related scam and money laundering case in connection with the medical college.
Rift in the open
Earlier, a Crime Branch investigation had been ordered on a batch of complaints that several people were cheated of large sums on the pretext of offering admissions at the college. Of late, the CSI Church has been riven by internal divisions, most recently over the question of upgrading the Mateer Memorial Church, an architectural marvel and familiar landmark in Thiruvananthapuram city, into a cathedral.
Mr. Abraham was the Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate against the Congress's Shashi Tharoor in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Thiruvananthapuram, but he was pushed to the third spot.
