Thodupuzha: Vigilance officials at Idukki, who questioned Congress legislator Mathew Kuzhalnadan on Saturday, said that there is strong evidence that he evaded tax in a land transaction at Chinnakanal, where the MLA owns a tourist resort.

According to the Vigilance, Kuzhalnadan had encroached on 50 cents of ‘puramboke’ (government) land and built a compound wall. He also engaged in malpractice during the registration of the land, as he failed to mention that it had a 1000-square-foot building and evaded tax in this regard.

“The registration was done to conceal the fact that government land was included in the property. If this was mentioned, the registration wouldn’t have taken place,” said the deputy superintendent of police (DySP), Vigilance Shaju Jose.

“Fraud had taken place at the village office, which helped hide the fact that surplus government land was involved. Kuzhalnadan’s resort is located on a plot over which a case was filed in 2008. Such a plot cannot be sold. The village officer carried out the mutation of the property, violating rules. However, there is no evidence that Kuzhaladan was involved in this malpractice,” said the DySP.

“We will file a preliminary report on the inquiry soon,” he informed.

‘Welcome any probe’
Reacting to the Vigilance interrogation, which lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours from 12.05 pm on Saturday, the Congress leader said that the issue was raked up only because the bribery case involving the Chief Minister’s daughter had come to the limelight again. “I am ready to face any probe against me. If the action against me is intended to hoodwink the people, it will be resisted,” he said.

According to Kuzhalnadan, the boundary stones on the land he bought were installed by those who sold the property to him. “I did not measure the land after purchasing it,” he said.

When Vigilance told the MLA that the area of the plot was greater than what was mentioned in the sale deed, Kuzhalnadan replied that he had not measured the property. He also said that if the vigilance officers had identified excess land, they could resort to the necessary procedures.