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A special investigation team of the Kerala Police on Monday submitted to the High Court the report of its follow-up probe into the sensitive ice cream parlour sex scandal, in which Muslim League leader and State Industries Minister PK Kunhalikutty was allegedly involved. The court, which did not examine the report on Monday, posted the case to March 6.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Jaison K Abraham of the probe team submitted the report, the case diary and other related documents to the court in a sealed envelope and the contents would most probably remain a secret till March 6. However, sources were of the view that the probe team had not found any new evidence that could change the course of the 15-year-old case.
The follow-up probe into the case, which was closed by a court for want of solid evidences and witness statements earlier, was launched by the former LDF government last year after businessman KA Rauf made some startling disclosures on how Kunhalikutty had allegedly derailed the case by bribing victims, witnesses and two former High Court judges.
The SIT, headed by Additional DGP Vincent M Paul, had prepared the report after a probe that took ten months. The team had quizzed Kunhalikutty, Rauf, the victims, witnesses and the two former judges who were allegedly bribed by the Industries Minister. Advocate General KP Dandapani told the High Court that the team had recorded statements of 142 witnesses.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice PR Ramachandra Menon asked the Court Registrar to keep the report and case diary in safe custody till March 6. Legal experts said that the future of the case which had been one of the most important determinants of Kerala politics in the past decade would depend on the court’s decision.
Anil Kumar, counsel for Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan who had sought a CBI probe into the scandal as he felt the SIT probe was not going in the right direction, asked for a copy of the probe report but the court said it would examine the report first. The bench would consider Achuthanandan’s plea for CBI probe into the scandal on March 6.
SIT head Vincent Paul and members P Vijayan, Thrissur City Police Commissioner, Anup John Kuruvila, Superintendent of Police, Kannur, and Jaison Abraham, DySP, were present in the court on Monday. Sources said that about 1,200 pages constituted the report, the 12-volume case diary and other documents.
Sources in the police indicated that the investigation team had not collected enough evidences to name Kunhalikutty and the others facing allegations as accused. At the same time, they also indicated that businessman Rauf could face a lot of legal problems in the future.
Rauf, also a close relative of Kunhalikutty, had on January 28, 2011 held a Press conference in Kozhikode to accuse the Muslim League leader of paying lakhs of rupees to the victims of the sex scandal to change the statements they had earlier given to the police and the court about his involvement in the sex racket based at an ice cream parlour in Kozhikode.
The businessman had claimed that Kunhalikutty had also given Rs 4 million as bribe to former High Court judges KT Thankappan and K Narayana Kurup in order to earn favourable verdicts. Rauf had said that he himself had arranged for the payments of these bribes for Kunhalikutty in most cases, adding that he was ready to face the consequences of his disclosures.
Kunhalikutty had resigned as Industries minister in 2004 from the then Congress-led government after Rejina, a victim of the scandal, revealed in a statement through TV channels that he had sexually abused her at three different places back in 1996 when she was a minor. She had also given such statements to the police but later changed it allegedly due to threats and bribes.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Jaison K Abraham of the probe team submitted the report, the case diary and other related documents to the court in a sealed envelope and the contents would most probably remain a secret till March 6. However, sources were of the view that the probe team had not found any new evidence that could change the course of the 15-year-old case.
The follow-up probe into the case, which was closed by a court for want of solid evidences and witness statements earlier, was launched by the former LDF government last year after businessman KA Rauf made some startling disclosures on how Kunhalikutty had allegedly derailed the case by bribing victims, witnesses and two former High Court judges.
The SIT, headed by Additional DGP Vincent M Paul, had prepared the report after a probe that took ten months. The team had quizzed Kunhalikutty, Rauf, the victims, witnesses and the two former judges who were allegedly bribed by the Industries Minister. Advocate General KP Dandapani told the High Court that the team had recorded statements of 142 witnesses.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice PR Ramachandra Menon asked the Court Registrar to keep the report and case diary in safe custody till March 6. Legal experts said that the future of the case which had been one of the most important determinants of Kerala politics in the past decade would depend on the court’s decision.
Anil Kumar, counsel for Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan who had sought a CBI probe into the scandal as he felt the SIT probe was not going in the right direction, asked for a copy of the probe report but the court said it would examine the report first. The bench would consider Achuthanandan’s plea for CBI probe into the scandal on March 6.
SIT head Vincent Paul and members P Vijayan, Thrissur City Police Commissioner, Anup John Kuruvila, Superintendent of Police, Kannur, and Jaison Abraham, DySP, were present in the court on Monday. Sources said that about 1,200 pages constituted the report, the 12-volume case diary and other documents.
Sources in the police indicated that the investigation team had not collected enough evidences to name Kunhalikutty and the others facing allegations as accused. At the same time, they also indicated that businessman Rauf could face a lot of legal problems in the future.
Rauf, also a close relative of Kunhalikutty, had on January 28, 2011 held a Press conference in Kozhikode to accuse the Muslim League leader of paying lakhs of rupees to the victims of the sex scandal to change the statements they had earlier given to the police and the court about his involvement in the sex racket based at an ice cream parlour in Kozhikode.
The businessman had claimed that Kunhalikutty had also given Rs 4 million as bribe to former High Court judges KT Thankappan and K Narayana Kurup in order to earn favourable verdicts. Rauf had said that he himself had arranged for the payments of these bribes for Kunhalikutty in most cases, adding that he was ready to face the consequences of his disclosures.
Kunhalikutty had resigned as Industries minister in 2004 from the then Congress-led government after Rejina, a victim of the scandal, revealed in a statement through TV channels that he had sexually abused her at three different places back in 1996 when she was a minor. She had also given such statements to the police but later changed it allegedly due to threats and bribes.
