Kerala politician Thushar Vellapally arrested in UAE

Dubai/Thiruvananthapuram: Thushar Vellapally, President of a coalition partner of the BJP-led NDA in Kerala, has been arrested in the UAE in connection with a Rs 19 crore cheating case, according to a media report here on Thursday.

Vellapally was arrested at a hotel in Ajman on Tuesday, Khaleej Times quoted a local source associated with his party Bharath Dharma Jana Sena.

Ajman Police sources have confirmed the arrest, the report said.

According to reports from Kerala, Vellapally has got a bail.

Sources said the case had nothing to do with politics.

It was a purely a business-related matter and a very old case, they said.

He was arrested at the hotel where he was invited to discuss matters in connection with the case.

According to the report, Vellapally had issued a cheque of Dh10 million (around Rs 19 crore) ten years ago to a construction firm that had bounced, the Khaleej Tiimes report quoted sources as saying.

The complaint was registered by a subcontractor from Thrissur, Kerala, who worked for Vellapally-owned Boeing Construction Company LLC that is now defunct.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, seeking his intervention in the matter.

In the letter, a copy of which was released to the media in Kerala, Vijayan expressed concern about the well being and health of Vellapally.

Vellapally is also the Vice President of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, a prominent organisation of the backward Ezhava community in Kerala.

Vellapally had unsuccessfully contested as the NDA candidate from Wayanad in the Lok Sabha elections in April 23 this year, in which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had emerged triumphant.