Secretary of Kerala NGO held for ‘threatening’ tribals

He was arrested on Monday and remanded to judicial custody. A case has been filed under various sections of the SC/ST Atrocities Act

Palakkad:  The secretary of an NGO, which had employed the key accused in the controversial gold smuggling case Swapna Suresh, was arrested for allegedly encroaching and threatening tribals here, police said.

Sholayur police had arrested Aji Krishnan, the secretary of High Range Rural Development Society (HRDS) with alleged RSS links, on Monday evening based on a complaint filed by a local member from the Tribal community.

He was arrested on Monday and remanded to judicial custody. A case has been filed under various sections of the SC/ST Atrocities Act,

The complaint has alleged that the organisation had encroached the land of tribals and threatened them.

HRDS India was in news recently for employing Suresh but later terminated her services. Suresh was expelled from her job recently by the NGO, claiming that the Kerala government was “crucifying” the NGO for providing her employment.

In a statement issued to the media, the outfit had said even though Suresh has been terminated from her current post as Director of Women Empowerment and CSR, she would be retained as the Chairperson of its Women Empowerment Advisory Committee, which is a position without any salary.

The NGO also had said it has decided to annul the appointment of Suresh after considering the allegation of the CM in the state Assembly that the NGO was protecting the gold smuggling case accused.

On 28 June, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a reply to an adjournment motion in the assembly, had said that Suresh was supported by an organisation affiliated with RSS.