Tushar Vellapally, who contested elections against former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad, has been arrested in UAE in connection with a Rs 19 crore cheque bounce case. Tushar is the chief of Kerala unit of Bharat Dharma Jana Sena, a constituent of the BJP-led NDA. According to his father Vellapally Natesan, Tushar was arrested in Ajman late on Wednesday, news agency IANS reported.
“My son was trapped and arrested. We are expecting that he will get bail today,” Natesan said.
Vellapally is also the vice-president of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, a prominent organisation of the backward Ezhava community in Kerala. His father is the general secretary of the organisation.
Vellapally 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.
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On Thursday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan 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, Vijayan expressed concern about the well being and health of Thushar Vellapally.
“News channels have reported the arrest of Shri Thushar Vellapally, Vice President of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) yogam at Ajman in UAE. 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,” he said.
Tushar was the NDA’s candidate against then Congress chief Rahul Gandhi from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala. He, however, lost his deposit as he secured just 78,816, votes against Rahul’s 7,06,367 votes.
The BDJS is the second largest constituent of the NDA in Kerala.