Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 28 (PTI) A day after bribery charges against a personal staff member of Health Minister Veena George triggered a political row in the state, the Kerala police on Thursday said the truth would be brought out through a comprehensive scientific probe.

A clear picture in the case would be known by Friday evening, the police also said.

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Haridasan, a resident of Malappuram district, had alleged on Wednesday that a personal staff member of the minister accepted Rs 1 lakh as bribe for the appointment of his daughter-in-law as a government medical officer.

Talking to the media about the progress of the investigation, Thiruvananthapuram city police Commissioner C H Nagaraju said a detailed statement of Haridasan would be recorded and a team of police personnel had already left for Malappuram for this.

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He said a complaint, submitted by the Minister's office to the DGP about the allegations, was handed over to him via the Police Headquarters on Wednesday, and a separate complaint by Akhil Mathew, the personal staff member who was facing charges, was also enclosed within it.

"As soon as we received the complaint, we contacted Akhil Mathew, who gave the complaint, took his detailed statement, and registered the FIR. The investigation is under progress now," he said.

An ACP rank officer would investigate the case, and he himself would supervise it, the commissioner said.

He said the police had information about Haridasan's revelations only through the media, and it should be found out to whom he had given the money.

"Scientific evidence should be collected to prove the charges. Some payments were said to be made through the bank. So, that will become evidence. CCTV visuals and emails, everything will be checked," he said.

The role of every person involved in the crime would be found out based on the scientific evidence, he explained.

The senior IPS officer said the police are on a mission to find out the truth and complete the investigation as soon as possible.

Noting that the police were viewing job fraud cases with the utmost seriousness, he said giving a bribe to get a job without writing any exam or not following any procedure itself was "corrupt behaviour."

"We expect that we will get a complete picture of the case by tomorrow (Friday) evening," he said.

Meanwhile, persons close to Akhil Mathew claimed that he was not involved in the scam and that he was in Pathanamthitta to attend a wedding ceremony on the day when he was said to have accepted the bribe at the state capital from Haridasan.

They also shared some photographs of his presence at the wedding through social media handles.

Asked about the bribery charges that cropped up against the Health Minister's office, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan told reporters here that a comprehensive probe should be conducted into it.

When the complaint was received, the minister's office brought this to the attention of the police higher-ups, and an investigation is going on, he said.

He also rejected charges that there was ambiguity in the investigation.

Haridasan, through the media, had alleged that a middleman approached him, saying the appointments of medical officers were being made through the minister's office, and asked him to pay a huge amount as a bribe in instalments.

He alleged that a former office secretary of CITU, the trade union wing of the CPI(M), in Pathanamthitta, who allegedly acted as a middleman, also accepted a bribe for the said appointment.

Haridasan also said that his daughter-in-law, however, didn't get the job.

Terming the bribery charges against the Health Minister's personal staff as "serious", the opposition Congress said corruption was thriving in all government departments in the state.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)