Kuttanad MLA and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Thomas K. Thomas on Monday lodged a complaint with State Police Chief Sheikh Darvesh Sahib alleging that his rivals in the party had hatched a conspiracy to kill him.
Mr. Thomas said that former NCP working committee member and businessman Reji Cherian devised the murder plot with the assistance of Thomas Kuruvila, who was the MLA’s driver until a few months ago. Mr. Thomas alleged that Mr. Kuruvila had been paid by the conspirators to provide information about his movements. The idea was to kill the MLA by pushing him off his vehicle into a waterlogged field while travelling through the interior parts of Kuttanad, the complaint reads.
Mr. Thomas who is at loggerheads with the State NCP leadership said the plan was to eliminate him and facilitate a bypoll in the Kuttanad Assembly constituency. He said that Mr. Cherian had been working against him ever since he became the MLA.
The ruling front MLA said the murder plot had been unravelled after he removed Mr. Kuruvila from the post of driver due to his suspicious behaviour. “He immediately became Mr. Cherian’s driver. Mr. Kuruvila, under the influence of alcohol, later telephoned my personal assistant and revealed the plan to eliminate me. He also divulged that Mr. Cherian had planned to contest in the subsequent bypoll in Kuttanad,” Mr. Thomas said.
Voice clip
Along with the complaint, he reportedly handed over a voice clip to the State Police Chief.
Mr. Kuruvila has denied the allegations levelled against him.
The allegations came at a time when Mr. Thomas and NCP State president P.C. Chacko are engaged in an ugly fight over the appointment of the party Alappuzha district president. Mr. Thomas recently alleged that Mr. Chacko was trying to destroy him politically.
Terming it a serious matter, NCP leader and Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran said that let the police investigate it. The Minister, however, criticised Mr. Thomas’ attempt to link the assassination plot to infighting in the party. Mr. Saseendran said that Mr. Thomas had not yet raised the issue in the party. “Mr. Thomas is seeing NCP State president P.C. Chacko as an arch enemy. He is deliberately trying to tarnish the image of the party. Mr. Thomas is immature and lacks understanding about the party’s functioning,” he said.
Mr. Saseendran said that he would file a complaint with the party national leadership against Mr. Thomas.
