The emergence on Thursday of a note reportedly written by a board member of the Ayyanad Service Cooperative Bank before his death has further deepened the controversy surrounding the scam involving diversion of money from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) to ineligible persons in the aftermath of the 2018 deluge.
V.A. Siyad was found hanging at his home at Thrikkakara on Monday. It caused a stir as the bank had found itself in the middle of the scam after another member of its board was arraigned as accused in the case by the C-Branch probing it.
However, the police were quick to rule out the alleged suicide to have anything to do with the scam, saying that Siyad was neither a suspect nor was he ever questioned.
Though the Thrikkakara police did not recover any note left behind by Siyad, his brother and relatives on Thursday produced a note reportedly written by him before his death.
The note names local CPI(M) leaders, including Thrikkakara central local secretary Jayachandran, area secretary Zakeer Hussain, and Kunneparambu branch secretary K.P. Nizar. He attributed his decision to take his life to psychological torture.
“We cannot take the note on face value but will have to verify its veracity and check it against the handwriting of the victim,” said police sources. The police have also taken the statements of Siyad’s relatives.