Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan said here on Tuesday that the fire at the Kerala Medical Services Corporation’s (KMSC) warehouse at the Kinfra park here was suspicious.
Mr. Satheeshan said the blaze that occurred early Tuesday and claimed the life of a brave Fire and Rescue Services personnel came close on the heels of a similar blaze at the corporation’s godown in Kollam. Preliminary information suggested that the fire destroyed material procured by the KMSC to combat COVID-19 at higher-than-market rates.
The corporation is facing accusations that its COVID-19 procurement of protective gear and medicines at exaggerated rates sans competitive bidding through agents had cost the public exchequer an estimated loss of ₹1,032 crore.
Sabotage suspected
The KMSC was at the centre of a snail-paced anti-corruption inquiry that had reached nowhere. The back-to-back fires at the corporation’s godowns might be sabotage to erase the evidence.
Former Health Minister K. K. Shailaja and top officials are respondents in the case.
Mr. Satheeshan alleged Corporation’s warehouse had no fire protection. Its claim that bleaching power stock in the godown combusted is unconvincing and incredulous. He said the mysterious fire demanded a criminal inquiry.
He alleged that the KMCS was a hive of corruption. In the past two years, at least nine persons have served as Corporation’s managing director. A corrupt and politically connected cabal wielded a stranglehold on the corporation’s procurement process. It bought medicine in excess to aid big pharma companies at the expense of the public exchequer.
Mr. Satheeshan said no managing director was willing to serve a full tenure at the corporation. Many were mortified that they would get ensnared in vigilance cases for no fault of theirs.
Similar incidents
The government used arson as a political tool to escape scrutiny. A mysterious fire broke out at the government Secretariat’s protocol section when Central agencies came knocking to investigate the special privileges granted by the administration to UAE consulate officials suspected to be involved in the diplomatic baggage gold smuggling case. A fire broke out at the Industries Minister’s office after the Opposition flagged high-level corruption in the Keltron traffic camera project. In some cases, surveillance cameras in critical installations got puzzlingly destroyed in lightning strikes.
The police investigation into the Tanur boat tragedy that claimed 21 lives in Malappuram has reached a dead-end. The police have moved to insulate the officials who conspired with the boat owner to put an unseaworthy boat into the water. Political patronage enabled the boat owner to bend norms and violate boat safety norms.
