BDJS chief Vellapally arrested in UAE in cheque bounce case

Thiruvananthapuram, August 22

NDA ally Bharath Dharma Jana Sena’s (BDJS) Kerala chief, Thushar Vellapally, who had contested Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad, has been arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in connection with a cheque bounce case.

The BDJS chief, who contested against the then-Congress president during the Lok Sabha polls, was arrested in Ajman late on Wednesday, his father Vellapally Natesan said.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Natesan, who is the General Secretary of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP), said his son was trapped and arrested.

“We are expecting that he will get bail today,” he said.

The BDJS chief, who was the candidate for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) from the Wayanad parliamentary seat, is currently lodged at a jail in Ajman. He was arrested after a businessman in UAE filed a case when the former’s cheque bounced.

The BDJS is the second biggest ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA in Kerala. Thushar Vellapally lost his deposit when he managed to get a mere 78,816, votes in the election which Gandhi won with the highest-ever margin in Kerala of over 4.30 lakh votes.

Kerala CM writes to Jaishankar

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 here, Vijayan expressed concern about the well-being and health of Vellapally.

“News channels have reported the arrest of Shri Thushar Vellapally, vice-president of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) yogam at Ajman in United Arab Emirates.

“I express concern about his well-being and health while in custody. All possible help within the limits of law needs to be made available to him.

“I request your kind personal attention and intervention in this regard”, Vijayan said in the letter. — Agencies