Fake pension allegation: Former Kerala minister and CPI(M) leader Sreemathi lodges complaint, case registered

Police have registered a case based on a complaint lodged by senior CPI(M) leader P K Sreemathi and former minister over the alleged false claims that she was drawing a family pension in the name of a former legislator, officials said on Sunday, July 26.

Kannur Rural Cyber Police registered the case under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act, including sections related to outraging the modesty of a woman and defamation, they said.

According to the Kerala police, the case was registered on Saturday, July 25, night based on Sreemathi's statement, and an investigation has been launched. Sreemathi  had served as the Minister for Health and Family Welfare in the Government of Kerala from 2006 to 2011. 

Police said six accused have been named in the case, including an online news portals, a Malayalam television channel and a local newspaper published from Kannur.

The controversy erupted after some online news portals, citing purported RTI documents, alleged that Sreemathi was drawing a family pension in the name of former MLA P R Krishnan.

However, Krishnan's family clarified on Thursday, July 23, that the pension beneficiary was his widow, who is also named P K Sreemathi, and that the allegations against the CPI(M) leader arose because both women share the same name.

Krishnan was a Congress leader and a member of the Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly between 1954 and 1956.

Following the incident, Sreemathi lodged complaints with the chief minister, the home minister and the state police chief.

She has also said she would issue legal notices to those who made the false allegations.

Recently, while explaining the distress caused by the controversy, Sreemathi broke down, saying the allegations had deeply affected her and her family as her husband had passed away only 10 months ago, yet she was being accused of drawing a family pension in the name of another legislator.