Hooch claims unlikely victim: Kerala CPM expels veteran

The CPI(M) yesterday expelled party state committee member M. Satyanesan for allegedly receiving money from Kollam hooch tragedy convict Man...

The CPI(M) yesterday expelled party state committee member M. Satyanesan for allegedly receiving money from Kollam hooch tragedy convict Manichan for personal gains during the LDF government’s rule in Kerala.

The decision comes in the wake of party probe that found Satyanesan guilty of accepting money from abkari contractors, particularly Manichan.

In a statement, the CPI(M) said Satyanesan’s action was unbecoming of a senior leader. The CPI(M) also suspended Parassala area committee secretary Gouthaman for one year in connection with the payoff case.

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Satyanesan, who represented the Parassala Assembly constituency twice, had succeeded Katiakonam V. Sreedhar as the party district secretary. He was replaced by M. Vijaykumar during the last district conference following allegations in connection with the abkari payoff case. The commission reportedly found the leader had received money from abkari contractors besides accepting a big sum from Manichan for securing the release of a relative lodged in a Gulf jail. He had allegedly also received money from abkari contractor Sunil Dutt for facilitating clearance of an arms licence and transfer of a deputy excise commissioner.

But the abkari contractor pay off-diary contains the names of 21 CPI(M) leaders. Apart from three, the names of the rest were deleted from the diary as these leaders had admitted to having received money from the abkari contractors for party purposes.