Thiruvananthapuram: Nearly two weeks after the Kerala High Court ordered a CBI probe into allegations against K.M. Abraham, following a decade-long legal battle spearheaded by activist Joemon Puthenpurackal, the central probe agency on Saturday finally registered a case against him.
Abraham, 66, is currently the Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, a former Chief Secretary, and the CEO of the state-run Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
The High Court’s directive instantly triggered speculation — will Abraham face the same fate as M. Sivasankar, the former Principal Secretary to Vijayan, who was jailed twice — once while in service and again shortly after retirement?
Adding to the intrigue, Chief Minister Vijayan surprised many by publicly defending Abraham, saying he would seek legal recourse.
In an unexpected move, Abraham also wrote to the Chief Minister, demanding a probe into an alleged conspiracy involving Puthenpurackal and two others.
Undeterred by what he called delay tactics, Puthenpurackal first wrote to Vijayan, warning him against any such step. A week later, with no action from the CBI, he approached the High Court again. It was only after this that the CBI acted, registering the case as per the court’s directive.
The comparison with Sivasankar continues to gain traction. Sivasankar first faced arrest in connection with the infamous Kerala gold smuggling case, accused of aiding the prime accused, Swapna Suresh. He was later arrested again in the Life Mission case involving alleged corruption in a government housing scheme.
Now, with the CBI case finally on record, all eyes are on Abraham — and on Vijayan, whose own statement, “no action will be taken against any official on the basis of mere allegations,” may come back to haunt him.
Will Abraham face suspension like Sivasankar did once the sleuths came calling?
On Saturday, Law Minister P. Rajeeve struggled to deflect media questions on the issue. “The CM has already said what he had to say. Let’s wait,” was all he said.
(IANS)
