Thiruvananthapuram: The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau department has registered a case against their former director Jacob Thomas on charges of corruption. The vigilance department has submitted an FIR against Jacob Thomas under the Prevention of Corruption Act in Thiruvananthapuram vigilance court.  Thomas served as the port director during 2009 - 2014.

According to the FIR, Thomas spent Rs 19 crore to buy a dredger, when only Rs 8 crore was sanctioned. The report alleged that Thomas caused financial losses to the government and misused his position.

Meanwhile, Jacob Thomas, the senior most official of the Kerala police cadre, who was suspended from his post of DGP, decided not to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Chalakudy. He had earlier expressed his desire to contest as a candidate of the Twenty 20 party, the organisation which is in power in Kizhakkambalam panchayat.

As government officials are banned from contesting polls, Thomas had to resign from his post as IPS officer, but his resignation was not accepted. The Twenty 20 Kizhakkambalam had stated that it will not field any other candidate from the constituency. Thomas' anti-corruption image could have been a powerful weapon to win the election, say sources.

According to sources, Jacob Thomas was a close aide of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan when the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government came to power. Thomas had then raised many allegations also against the UDF government. This turned out to be beneficial to the LDF in their election campaign. The LDF came to power and appointed Thomas to a senior post. But Thomas later accused EP Jayarajan of nepotism and filed a case against him. EP Jayarajan is one of the close aides of Pinarayi Vijayan.

Then the state government dismissed Thomas from the post of director of VACB director. Thomas had to later face three suspensions.

Thomas even alleged that Vijayan suspended him December (2017) for making a speech against corruption on International Anti-Corruption Day. He was then suspended again in March (2018) for writing two innocuous books in Malayalam, an autobiography and one on capacity building in governance. He has been banned from travelling abroad, and not permitted to visit his daughter who lives in Muscat.