Cases filed against Chandy,venugopal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Crime Branch of the Kerala police has registered cases against former chief minister Oommen Chandy and MP KC Venugopal, after solar scam accused Saritha S Nair accused them of sexual misconduct.

Confirming the development, Director General of Police (DGP) Loknath Behara said, “Let the law take its own course.”

A Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Superintendent of Police (SP) Abdul Karim, has been constituted to probe cases.

Terming the case as “politically motivated”, Chandy said he would follow the legal course.

By lodging the cases now, the attempt of the CPI(M)-LED Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the state was to deflect the attention of the people from the Sabarimala issue, Chandy told reporters. Nair has 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 against Nair and Biju Radhakrishanan that they had duped several people of crores of rupees by offering them solar panel solutions had surfaced. The 1,073page, four-volume report of the commission had found that Chandy and four of his personal staff had “assisted” Saritha S 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 July 19, 2013, to the police commissioner, in which she had levelled charges of sexual misconduct and corruption against various Congress and UDF leaders, including Chandy.