Kerala politician Thushar Vellapally claims clean chit by UAE court in cheque default case
Dubai: Thushar Vellapally, President of a coalition partner of the BJP-led NDA in Kerala, who was arrested last month in the UAE in connection with a Rs 19 crore cheque default case, has been cleared of all charges in the case by a UAE court, the leader himself said here on Sunday.
Vellaally, who unsuccessfully contested as the NDA candidate against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 general elections from Wayanad, was arrested on August 20 at a hotel in Ajman in connection with Rs 19 crore cheque default case.
He was released on bail by Ajman Public Prosecution, but was not allowed to travel to India without clearing a civil case.
On Sunday, Vellapally, chief of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena which is a partner of the BJP-led NDA in the state, told media here that he has been cleared of all charges by a court in Ajman. He called it the victory of justice . The Ajman court in the UAE quashed the criminal proceedings against him citing lack of evidence, the party sources said.
The court has said the evidence submitted by the complainant in the case, N Abdullah who worked for Vellapally-owned Boeing Construction Company LLC that is now defunct, lacks credibility and raised doubts on the veracity of the documents filed.
The arrest was based on a complaint from Abdullah, a Thrissur native in 2009, when Vellapally was running a construction business in Ajman.
He alleged that Vellapally had issued a cheque of Dh 10 million (around Rs 19 crore) ten years ago that had bounced. The court has also agreed to release the passport of Vellappally, which it had withheld after the case was registered, the party sources said.
He is expected to remain in the UAE for a couple of days to meet the complainant in the case.
The BJP in Kerala on Sunday welcomed the quashing of a cheque bounce case against the NDA state convener, terming his release as the "victory of truth".
"This is the victory of truth. It's highly deplorable, the tendency to trap the politicians in fake cases and tarnish their image," BJP state chief P S Sreedharan Pillai said in a statement in Thiruvananthapuram.
Vellapally is also the Vice President of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, a prominent organisation of the backward Ezhava community in Kerala.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
