Celebrities under scanner over flood relief fund raising event in Kerala

Several celebrities in Kerala are under a cloud of suspicion in connection with a fund-raising music event organised in Kochi recently.

The Kochi Music Foundation formed by a group of known film-makers, actors and musicians like Ashiq Abu, his wife Rima Kallingal and Bijibal , organised a music night, titled Karuna, at Kochi on last November 1 with the stated objective of raising funds for contributing to Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund for flood relief. A government indoor stadium was also given at discounted rent considering the objective.

But a recent reply from the Kerala Government stated that the foundation has not remitted any fund to the CMDRF. As the matter turned controversial, the organisers handed over a cheaque of Rs. 6.22 lakh to the CMDRF, dated February 14.

As the foundation rejected BJP leader Sandeep G Varrier's demand to make the accounts of the event public, Sandeep approached district collector S Suhas who was the patron of the event. But the district collector maintained that he was not a patron of the event and warned the foundation organisers of legal action for stating that he was the patron without obtaining his written consent. The district collector also forwarded a petition given by Sandeep to the police for an investigation.

While the organisers tried to wriggle out of the issue by maintaining that the event was not organised with the objective of fund raising from CMDRF, more persons, including Congress MP Hibi Eden, joined the issue by posting a letter on social media given by the foundation to the indoor stadium authorities seeking permission for staging the event, in which it was stated that the objective was to raise money for CM's flood relief.