Police in Thiruvananthapuram have registered a forgery case against Mayor V V Rajesh, BJP councillor R Sugathan and the city corporation secretary over allegations that Sugathan’s signature was entered in the council attendance register for meetings he did not attend. The case was registered by Museum Police following a complaint from S P Deepak, the LDF parliamentary party leader in the corporation. The allegations concern the integrity of official attendance records used by the city’s elected council. According to the complaint, Sugathan’s signature was allegedly entered against his name for council meetings held on February 26, March 11 and April 27. The complaint claimed that Sugathan was not present at those meetings and that he was in hiding after a case had been registered against him. Sugathan, who represents Vazhottukonam, was arrested by Vattiyoorkavu police on June 9 in connection with a Kaapa case. The LDF alleged that he had avoided several corporation meetings because he feared arrest, but that his signatures were later entered in the attendance register to show his participation. Museum Police began an inquiry after receiving the complaint and recently visited the corporation headquarters. Officers examined the attendance register and other records kept in the mayor’s office as part of the verification process. The Times of India reported that police registered the case after a preliminary inquiry found substance in the allegations. The case names the mayor, Sugathan and the corporation secretary as accused. The registration of a case represents the beginning of an investigation and does not establish guilt. Sugathan was released from jail on Tuesday after preventive detention proceedings against him were cancelled. Rajesh has rejected the allegations. In a legal notice sent to Deepak, the mayor described the accusations as baseless and defamatory, and said they had damaged his reputation and cast aspersions on the dignity of the corporation. He also alleged that the claims were creating impediments to the corporation’s developmental projects and affecting staff morale. Rajesh said he had decided to initiate civil and criminal proceedings against Deepak and demanded compensation of Rs 5 crore, payable within 15 days of receipt of the notice. The mayor said he would pursue recovery through legal proceedings if the demand was not met. The police investigation will now determine how the entries were made, who was responsible for them and whether the alleged signatures were forged. The corporation’s attendance records and related documents examined during the preliminary inquiry are expected to form part of the investigation.
