Even as the Kerala High Court on Friday stayed a state Kerala lower court’s order to register a police case or FIR against Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in a Solar Scam, alleged con-woman Saritha Nair, one of the main accused, claimed on Friday that CM’s his son was involved.
“I am innocent… there is nothing to be relieved about,” said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy after court decision.
The chief minister has accused disgruntled bar owners of propping up false allegations against him because his Congress government has introduced plans to turn Kerala into a dry state within 10 years.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his party have suggested the anti-prohibition lobby is egging on Saritha Nair, who is accused of duping industrialists by promising them cheap solar panels, but they were never delivered.
Saritha Nair has made sensational allegations against Oommen Chandy in her testimony for a retired judge investigating the solar scam, and on Friday she said the CM’s son was also involved in the scam.
Saritha made this disclosure on the third day of her deposition before the Solar Judicial Commission, and said she met the CM many times and not just three times, as mentioned by Oommen Chandy in his deposition before the commission.
She said there was a picture of hers that had come out at a function at Kottayam where she met the CM and on that day she was talking about a new company to be formed by his son Chandy Oommen and the CM had agreed to that.
On Thursday, Saritha had alleged that she gave Rs.1.90 crore in bribes to the CM in two instalments through a person called Thomas Kuruvilla who is based in Delhi. And on Friday, she added that the Oommen Chandy’s son was always available on Kuruvilla’s mobile phone when they discussed the solar panel business and the formation of a new company to import solar panels.
Along with her partner, Biju Radhakrishnan, Saritha dropped Chandy’s name and flaunted her access to some of his top aides to land valuable clean energy deals. Saritha was arrested in 2013 and then granted bail.
The CM has said that her claim was baseless. And he has pointed out that he suspended three of his aides who seemed to have close links with Saritha.