Times of
India: Madurai: Sunday, December 21, 2014.
A case was registered against the former of chief
education officer(CEO) of Tirunalveli and fourteen others, including district
educational officers(DEOs) and headmasters of various government schools, for
swindling funds.
A right to information (RTI) petition filed by
Brahmma, an advocate from Tirunalveli, found that they had allegedly
misappropriated funds to the tune of Rs 41 lakh while conducting a state-level
event. The prize-giving ceremony for a state-level skill development programme was
held at the Sara Tucker school in Tirunalveli on October 26, 2013. The money
for event was collected from students, and close to Rs 23 lakh was collected
from government schools alone as contributions of Rs five. Private schools in
the district were also asked to contribute in various ways.
However, when Brahmma asked for a breakup of the
collected money and the amount that was spent, it was reportedly not revealed.
Later, he filed an RTI on the same issue and found that as much as Rs 40 lakh
had been allegedly obtained through various donations. The government had
allocated just Rs three lakh for the event, which was attended by P
Palaniappan, minister for higher education and Senthoor Pandian, Hindu
Religious and Charitable Endowments minister, among others.
Brahmma alleged that the organisers had submitted
fake bills for the event.
Palayamkottai police registered cases under
Section 406, 409, 477 (a) and 420 of IPC against fifteen persons. This includes
Jayakannu, then CEO of Tirunalveli and now CEO of Ramanathapuram, DEOs of
Tirunalveli, Tenkasi and Seranmahadevi, government school headmasters from
Burkit Managaram, Reddiarpatti, Tirunalveli Junction, Maharajapuram, Radhapuram
and Naranammalpuram. Investigations have begun.
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