Solar report tabled: Commission finds Chandy guilty, suggests probe into Saritha's sexual abuse allegations

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday tabled the full text of the judicial commission's probe report related to solar scam case against former CM Oommen Chandy and other Congress leaders at a special session in the state Assembly.

The more than 1,000-page report by Justice G Sivarajan (retd) includes four volumes in English and one in Malayalam. After the Chief Minister tabled the report, copies of it were given to all the legislators and also to the media. 

According to the report, Chandy and his previous personal staff members - Tenny Joppen, Jikkumon Jacob - and gunman Salim Raj had helped Saritha S Nair, the prime accused in the solar scam, and Biju Radhakrishnan to cheat the clients.

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It also states that Congress leader and then-home minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan made all efforts to ensure that Chandy is extricated from all the criminal liability.

The others who have been found guilty include Chandy's former cabinet colleagues Aryadan Mohammed, Adoor Prakash, AP Anil Kumar. Some others named in the case are legislator Hibi Eden, former MLAs Benny Behanan and Thampanoor Ravi, Lok Sabha members Jose K Mani and KC Venugopal, former Union minister SS Palanimanickam and some party office bearers.

The report also contains a letter written by Nair wherein she names all Congress leaders who sexually exploited her. The commision has suggested a probe into the matter.

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Pinarayi had earlier given permission for live telecast of the day's proceedings. Soon after the CM finished his speech, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said that reports have surfaced that after Sivarajan submitted his report, a person was sent to the retired judge again, which should not have happened.

"This report is based on what Saritha Nair has said and you (Pinarayi) are using this to settle political scores against a tall leader like Chandy, whose track record is impeccable and one who has carried himself in a dignified manner as a legislator for almost 50 years," Chennithala pointed out.

After the 50-minute session, opposition leaders got together at the official residence of Chennithala to tackle the fresh developments. According to sources in the know of things, the Congress opposition is all set to challenge the report in the court.

This is the first time in the history of the assembly that a special session was called to table a Judicial Commission probe report. So far, all the 134 previous judicial probes were tabled in the course of regular assembly sessions.

The allegations regarding the multi-crore solar energy investment fraud that rocked the Oommen Chandy government in 2013 were led by Saritha and her live-in partner Biju Radhakrishnan.

The case relates to Sarith and Biju swindling of lakhs from several people after promising to set up solar panels. They were business partners of Team Solar Renewable Energy Solutions Private Limited, a Kochi based firm, and were arrested in October 2013 and in December 2016.

During the investigation, Chandy and some of his cabinet colleagues were accused of taking a huge sum of money as a part of the deal. Chandy had deposed before the commission in December 2016, saying that the charges against him were politically motivated.