Kasaragod: The Vigilance Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) launched surprise and simultaneous searches at the house of veteran Congress leader and Kasaragod's Balal grama panchayat president Raju Kattakkayam (60) and the panchayat office on Saturday. He is under investigation in an illegal wealth case, said a VACB officer. The searches were carried out by a team of around 30 officers of VACB's special cell in Kozhikode, and headed by DySP Sreekumar C.

Kattakkayam, who has been either the president or vice-president of Balal grama panchayat for the past 25 years, is accused of accumulating wealth beyond his known source of income, said sub-inspector Pramod Das over the phone from the Special Cell office in Kozhikode.

He said VACB conducted an open inquiry keeping Kattakkayam in the loop after getting a complaint that he had amassed illegal wealth. "The inquiry found that he owned at least 32 to 40 per cent more wealth and assets than his known source of income," he said.

The report was sent to the VACB Director, who gave the special cell the go-ahead to register an FIR. "Today's searches are part of the investigation into the FIR," said SI Pramod Das. The searches at the panchayat president's house at Malom began at 7 am and at the panchayat office at 10 am when it opened.

Balal grama panchayat is a bastion of the Congress, and Raju Kattakkayam is the local satrap. Of the 16 wards, the Congress controls 13 wards and its ally IUML has one ward. LDF's CPM and CPI have one member each.

Kattakkayam said the searches were orchestrated by the CPM eyeing the local body election next year.
The Congress Balal Mandalam committee said it would take out a protest meet and march in Malom on Saturday evening. In a statement, the committee said the party would face the charges politically and legally.