(This is the Third part of a series on the fake CSR scam. Read Part I , Read Part II and Read part IV)

The people belonging to financially backward sections of society who lost money in the statewide CSR Fund scam are facing a pathetic situation. They have been deprived of money they paid to the ‘half-price scheme’ operators by borrowing from others and pledging gold ornaments. Uncertain over the fate of their money, these victims of the fraud visit police stations across the state regularly. Some among the victims, who complained over the delay in the delivery of the scooters and other items promised to them, were forced to pay another Rs 1,000 under the guise of signing contracts.

In a shocking turn of events, the fraudsters did not spare even the survivors of the Mundakai-Chooralmala landslides, who had escaped with nothing more than their lives. Many of these people had lost their vehicles in the disaster and did not receive the insurance amount. The CSR Fund scam operators took advantage of this situation and offered two-wheelers at half the price.

The landslide survivors said that they did not initially suspect the fraud as all transactions were made through Akshaya centres. They were also given a contract and a promissory note by the accused, Ananthu Krishnan, to return the money, prepared on a Rs 200 stamp paper by an advocate based at Ambalavayal in Wayanad. However, neither the items were received, nor their money was refunded.

Incidentally, several members of SEED (Socio Economic and Development Society) have also lost money in the scam. For instance, B Sreejith (33) and his wife A A Anupama (28) of Panniyankara in Palakkad, pledged a bangle weighing a sovereign and transferred their entire savings to book a two-wheeler. Anupama, a member of Alathur unit of SEED, paid Rs 62,000 for the purpose, transferring the money to a bank account. Some other members of Alathur SEED also made the payments for the items.

Tribal women also cheated
Women belonging to the Adivasi (Scheduled Tribe) communities had paid money for scooters to avoid long treks in the forest, where there is a threat of wild animals. After realising that they were deceived, 41 residents of the Marayur panchayat filed complaints. More Adivasi people, who had raised the money by borrowing and tapping the savings of several years of hard labour, are expected to submit complaints soon.

Sandhya Vishnu, an Adivasi resident of Alampetty, Marayur, said that she fell into the trap through Kudumbashree.

“It was my dream to own a scooter. I fell for the ‘half-price’ offer as I had no money to buy it. The half-price was paid by pledging some gold I owned and borrowing money. I trusted a message in the Kudumbashree group. But, when the scooter was not delivered even after three months, we complained. Then, Adivasi women from Marayur and Kanthalloor were asked to reach Devikulam guest house to sign a contract. We spent Rs 1,000 on travel expenses, notary fees, and stamp paper. There were 397 persons at the guest house, none of whom received a copy of the contract. They asked us to come for it another day. We had to spend more money, ” Sandhya narrated the incident.

The fraud has also been reported from the farming regions of Munnar, where the swindlers promised to supply agricultural implements at half the price. A former chairperson of Kudumbashree was appointed as SEED coordinator to gain the confidence of the people in this region.

Volunteer Gram in place of Instagram
When deliveries did not take place, representatives of NGOs told Ananthu firmly that they could not continue the scheme without supplying the items. However, at a meeting of the NGO Confederation convened to discuss the issue in April 2024, Ananthu gave them new promises in a speech, a voice clip of which has been released.

One announcement was the investment in satellite parks to be opened in Kerala under the Central Government’s Mega Industrial Park project. He also announced a scheme to supply cloth to beneficiaries who bought sewing machines and find a market for the dresses designed by them. Another promise was to launch ‘Volunteer Gram’, a web platform for youngsters as an alternative to Instagram. Children who bought the laptops at half-price would be included on this social media, he said. A job portal too was promised.

Ananthu claimed that he had sufficient funds to refund the money to everyone, even if the scheme was closed abruptly. He explained that he received Rs 2,000-8,000 as dealer commission while purchasing scooters and sewing machines, and this money was deposited in his account. The representatives of NGOs left the meeting after hearing another promise from Ananthu – that his scheme would receive Rs 300 crore under a Central Government project and 10-percent of this amount had to be deposited for the allotment.

Strange suggestions
An implementing agency for the scam placed a strange offer before people who complained about non-delivery of the promised items. It said that menstrual pads which could prevent uterine cancer would be made available for them, and they could sell the item to earn a commission to recover their money.

As per the offer by the agency based at Vakkad, Tirur in Malappuram, each pad cost Rs 650 and the commission amount was Rs 30.

Source of CSR Funds
Ananthu claimed that he would receive the CSR Funds from 22 entities, including the churches in northeast India and social service organisations in Uttarakhand. In records submitted to NGO Confederation, Ananthu said that he employed over 40 people in his offices at Kalamassery, Ayyanthole in Thrissur and Connaught Place in Delhi. He said funds would be made available from firms in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

‘Justice Ramachandran Nair had no role’
Meanwhile, Sai Gramam Global Trust chairman K N Ananda Kumar said that even though retired Justice C N Ramachandran Nair was appointed as advisory chairman of the National NGO Confederation in February last year, he did not take part in any meetings or become involved in the day-to-day functioning of the organisation. Justice Nair submitted his resignation letter in July 2024, said Kumar. “He is totally innocent in the present issue,” he added.

(This is the Third part of a series on the fake CSR scam. Read Part I , Read Part II and Read part IV)

(Additional reporting: SP Sarath, Shinto Joseph, Bijin Samuel, Joe Mathew- Compiled by Santhosh John Thooval)