By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : A court here Tuesday directed the state vigilance department to initiate a probe into allegations that former Kerala finance minister Vakkom Purushothaman has amassed wealth beyond his known sources of income.
Judge K. Sashidharan Nair of the Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Court ordered the inquiry, acting on a petition filed by Marikar Haji of Malappuram. The court asked the department to file a report on its inquiry within three months.
Purushothaman was finance minister from 2004 to 2006 when Oomen Chandy was chief minister. Earlier, he was Kerala assembly speaker 2001-04.
Incidentally, the same court but another judge last year exonerated Purushothaman on the same complaint for want of evidence.
But Haji, unwilling to give up, approached the Kerala High Court with the same petition. The high court then asked the vigilance court to look into the complaint once again.