Bharatnatyam dancer Leela Samson and four others have been charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for alleged irregularities in renovation of an auditorium worth Rs 7.02 crore in 2010, officials said today.
The CBI alleged the irregularities were detected in giving contract to renovate an auditorium at Kalakshetra Foundation in Chennai when Ms Samson was its director in 2010.
"The work orders for renovation of KF auditorium were awarded at a higher rate through consultant architect CARD without following rules. CARD selected contractors and those contractors were given work orders on nomination basis without following open tender process," the CBI's First Information Report (FIR) said.
Ms Samson held the director's post at Kalakshetra Foundation from May 2005 to April 2012.
In 2015, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in a report said the "works were done without the formal sanction of the governing board" of Kalakshetra Foundation.
The CAG's report came after the governing body in 2012 ordered a probe into the auditorium's renovation, after which the work stopped and Ms Samson left.
The Culture Ministry in a complaint to the CBI in 2017 sought to file a case against Ms Samson, former chief accounts officer of the foundation TS Murthi, former administrative officer S Ramachandran, engineering officer Srinivasan and owner of architecture firm CARD Ravi Neelakantan.
The governing body alleged they misused their positions, which led to losses for the foundation.
Ms Samson was the dance tutor of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. She held several important posts when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was in power, including the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification and Sangeet Natak Akademi.
She was awarded the Padma Shri in 1990.
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