A company, in which former cricketer Kapil Dev was a stakeholder, had been forced to abandon a medical township project in Kochi as it was not prepared to give huge bribe demand by allegedly CPI(M) leaders. An audio clip of a telephonic conversation between CPI leader from Ernakulam district EM Sunilkumar and a real estate middleman surfaced on Friday revealed that CPI(M) local secretary Vijayan in Kadamakkudi near Kochi demanded a huge bribe from Kapil’s company for permitting land-filling of farmland identified for the project on the Chariyamthuruth island.
From the telephonic conversation aired by local TV channels, it is apparent that the CPI(M) had identified the 138 acres in Chariyamthuruth for its land rights agitation of 2013 following the company’s refusal to pay the bribe demanded by the Marxist. The irony is that the transfer of the land, where the struggle was staged, reportedly took place during the 2006-11 lDF rule.
The Kapil-led consortium had in September, 2011 presented to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy a proposal for setting up a multi-crore medical city project in Kochi. The project was to have a 1,000-bed modern medicine hospital, a 50-bed Ayurvedic hospital, a convention centre, a medical research facility and medical, dental and paramedical colleges.
As per the audio tape of the telephonic conversation between Sunilkumar and the real estate middleman, CPI(M) leader Vijayan would have provided all required assistance for land-filling if he was paid the bribe. The land for the project was earlier a shrimp farm-cum-field where Pokkali, a rice variety, was cultivated.
However, the tape also revealed that Sunilkumar had not disclosed the CPI(M) leader’s demand out of good intentions, but he was doing it allegedly to put pressure on the middleman to pay him Rs50 lakh for allowing land-filling in a wetland in Thanthonnithuruth in Ernakulam district. In response to alleged tape on the demand for bribe by Sunilkumar, State CPI secretary Kanam Rajendran said the party would hold a probe into the allegation. Disciplinary action, including expulsion from party, could be taken against Sunilkumar if he was found guilty of the charge, Rajendran said.