The Kerala Crime Branch on Sunday registered a case against former state chief minister Oommen Chandy and Member of Parliament from Alappuzha K C Venugopal after a complaint of sexual harassment was filed against them by Solar scam accused Saritha S Nair.
Confirming the development, Director General of Police Loknath Behara said the cases against the two leaders were lodged on the basis of a complaint from Nair. “Let the law take its own course,” he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram. A Special Investigation Team, headed by Superintendent of Police Abdul Karim, was constituted to probe the cases, the DGP added.
Chandy, reacting to the development, said they were prepared to face the cases legally. He claimed the cases were “politically motivated”. By lodging the cases, the attempt of the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the state is attempting to divert the attention of the people from the ensuing Sabarimala issue, Chandy told reporters.
Nair alleged in her complaint that Chandy had sexually exploited her at Cliff House, the official residence of the chief minister, in 2012, while Venugopal had raped her at Rose House, the residence of then-state minister A P Anil Kumar.
The previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government had formed the G Sivarajan Commission when the allegations had surfaced against Nair and Biju Radhakrishanan that they had duped several people of crores of rupees by offering them solar panel solutions in 2013.
The 1,073-page, four-volume report of the Commission, tabled in the state Assembly on November 9 last year, had found that Chandy and four of his personal staff – Tenny Joppan, Jikkumon Jacon, gunman Salimraj and Kuruvilla, his aide in Delhi – had “assisted” Nair and her company, Team Solar, in enabling them to cheat their customers.
The report also contained details of the controversial letter written by Nair on 19 July 2013 to the police commissioner, in which she had levelled charges of sexual misconduct and corruption against various Congress and UDF leaders, including Chandy, some of his ministers and two former Union ministers.
The Kerala High Court had in May this year annulled the Commission’s findings against Chandy based on Nair’s letter, while partly allowing a petition filed by the Congress leader that sought to quash the panel’s findings against him.
