Kerala PRD director suspended

A top Kerala government official was suspended on Wednesday for his alleged links with suspects in the solar panel fraud case.

The director of the state Public Relations Department (PRD), A Firoz, was suspended based on findings in an interim report by the public relations secretary.

The official had been under the scanner for involvement in a case of cheating where Sarita S Nair and Biju Radhakrishnan, both suspects in the solar panel fraud, had duped a man of Rs 40 lakh after promising him help in obtaining a hefty bank loan.  Firoz was one of three accused in the case that was registered in 2009 but the file sent to the government in this connection had gone “missing,” according to the report.

Meanwhile, the CPM-led opposition parties stalled proceedings in the Assembly on Wednesday while reiterating allegations of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s involvement in the fraud case that has cornered the Congress-led United Democratic Front government.