Kaloor stadium mishap: GST Intelligence raids at offices and houses of organisers

Kochi:The State GST Intelligence Department  has conducted raids at the offices and houses of the organisers who arranged the mega bharatanatyam dance event at Kaloor Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium. The raids are being conducted at Oscar Events in Thrissur, Events India in Kochi and Mridanga Vision in Wayanad, following preliminary indications of a massive GST evasion.

During the dance programme organised by Mridanga Vision, MLA Uma Thomas suffered severe injuries after falling from the stage. The police had questioned Mridanga Vision proprietor M. Nigosh Kumar in connection with the incident. Reports had earlier suggested that there was high-level intervention in leasing the Kaloor Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the Guinness World Record dance event.

Earlier, stadium authorities had reported that the venue could not be provided for the programme. However, subsequent developments led to the stadium being handed over to Mridanga Vision. They had submitted the application for the stadium in August 2024. The application was addressed to GCDA Chairman Chandran Pillai.

Approximately a month later, Chandran Pillai forwarded the application to the stadium's estate division. Since the stadium had been exclusively allocated for the Blasters until April 2025, the estate division initially decided not to grant permission. The stadium is meant solely for football. Besides, the estate division pointed out that hosting other events could potentially damage the internationally designed turf, as noted in GCDA records.

However, this decision was later overturned, and the stadium was allocated to Mridanga Vision. An agreement was made stating that the stadium could be leased if a rejection letter was obtained from the Blasters. Following this, matters were expedited, with an NOC reportedly acquired within a short period. Records indicate that all processes were completed in just a day or two.