Kannur native files complaint against charity worker for demanding share from money raised

A native of Kannur has filed a police complaint against charity workers who initially helped her in gathering money for her mother's treatment. Complainant Varsha had made an appeal on social media a month ago seeking financial help for the treatment of her mother who needed emergency liver surgery. She received a whopping amount of Rs 1.25 crore in her bank account from various sources within a few days of the appeal. 

Soon after her mother’s surgery, she started receiving threatening calls from different people, including charity workers who helped her, demanding a share of the amount she received from the public which forced her to file a complaint.

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Police registers case against charity workers

Based on Varsha's complaint the Cherannelloor police on Friday registered a case against the four charity workers- Firoz Kunnamparambil, Sajan Kechery, Salam and Shahid. The DCP said that the police will also look into allegations of money laundering.

"A preliminary inquiry was conducted based on the girl's complaint and a case was registered against the four persons for threatening her," the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) G Poonkuzhali said.

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Meanwhile, Youth Congress state secretary PY Shajahan, who filed a police complaint, has demanded an inquiry into the alleged hawala links and the high-level political involvement in the incident. He also demanded a detailed investigation be conducted into the matter.

"It is mysterious that the money continued to pour in even after the girl requested to stop donation after the amount crossed Rs 60 lakhs," Shajahan said

Following the charity controversy, Firoz has demanded to freeze the bank accounts of Varsha and her mother. Earlier he also said that Varsha had promised to give a share of the donation for the treatment of other poor patients. "If the hawala gang, charity workers, and Varsha conspired to collect the money, the role of these persons should be investigated," Firoz said in a Facebook post.

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The Inspector General (IG) and Kochi City Police Commissioner Vijay Sakhare however has denied the allegation of hawala links in the incident and said that the allegations of transferring huge amounts from certain accounts will be probed. "Hawala is a non-banking transaction. Here, the whole amount came via bank. However, the police will check the source of funds," he said. The IG also said that the previous monetary transactions of the accused will also be probed. 

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(With inputs from ANI) (Representative image)