The CPI-M Kozhikode District Committee on Saturday expelled its town area committee member Pramod Kottooli from the party for allegedly taking bribes from a woman doctor for arranging a PSC membership to her.

The Kozhikode District Committee of the CPI-M decided to expel the youth leader from the primary membership of the party after raising suspicion over his financial deals.

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It is alleged that Pramod received Rs 22 lakh from a woman doctor after promising to make her a member of the Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC). He reportedly used PWD Minister Mohammad Riyas’ name to convince the doctor.

It has been reported that a section of party district committee members proposed avoiding stringent action and suggested demotion or suspension. However, another group opposed it. They said the party has strong evidence against Pramod to prove the bribery allegation against him.

After the party took action against him, Pramod Kottooli and his mother staged a sit-in protest in front of the house of the complainant, who made bribery allegations against him.

The CPI-M District Committee in a press release explained that the expulsion of Pramod from the primary membership was due to his activities that tarnished the reputation of the party.

The press release did not mention the PSC bribery allegation as the reason for the expulsion of Pramod from the party. CPI-M District Secretary P Mohanan said that the action against Pramod was not due to PSC bribery allegations.

It has been alleged that a young CPI-M leader from Kozhikode collected a bribe from a person promising membership in the state Public Service commission (PSC). The young leader was accused of offering the post of PSC member to a Kozhikode native for Rs 60 lakh as a bribe.

However, the promise was not honoured following which the victim approached the party leadership with a complaint. The complainant alleged that the young leader had taken the names of some prominent CPI-M leaders to convince the victim.