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KOCHI: Bengaluru-based businessman M K Kuruvilla on Wednesday deposed before the Justice G Sivarajan Commission investigating the Solar scam case that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy demanded Rs 1,000 crore from him for implementing a solar panel project.

Kuruvilla also alleged that ADGP K Padmakumar, ACP Bijo Alexander and sub-inspector Sathar received bribe from the accused persons for settling a police complaint lodged by him. Kuruvilla stated that in 2011, he got acquainted with a person named Binu Nair who claimed to be director of Kochi-based SCOSSA Educational Consultant Private Ltd. Nair approached Kuruvilla with the plan of a solar energy project for large industries.

The project was to be implemented with an investment of Rs 4,000 crore, with technology transferred from abroad. Later, Kuruvilla was introduced to one Andrews, claimed to be cousin of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, and Diljith, claimed to be private secretary to the CM. The trio convinced Kuruvilla that they could get permission for the project from the Central Government and the State Government. They demanded Rs 1 crore for availing the permit, which was to be paid in instalments.

As directed by the team, Kuruvilla visited the Kerala House on July 2, 2011, where he was introduced to Oommen Chandy by Andrews. He submitted that during the meeting, Oommen Chandy told him that Andrews was his cousin, and that he would make arrangements for getting the project implemented. As of March 2012, Kuruvilla paid around Rs 1.35 crore to the three men for the licence. After that, however, they did not respond to the phone calls of Kuruvilla, who ended up losing the money.

Later, Kuruvilla met the Chief Minister at Cliff House on October 11, 2012, and lodged a complaint against the three men. Oommen Chandy spoke to Kuruvilla for around 45 minutes. Only then Chandy came to know that the Rs 4,000-cr project Kuruvilla was planning to implement was being financed by a UK based-consortium. On this, Chandy asked Kuruvilla to deposit 25 per cent of the project cost - around Rs 1,000 crore - in his account.

Chandy allegedly told Kuruvilla that on paying the amount, the project would get government approval with a 40 per cent subsidy, nearly Rs 1600 crore. When Kuruvilla refused to pay the amount, Oommen Chandy gave the mobile phone numbers of his two gunmen, including Salim Raj, and asked to contact them later.

On another occasion, when Kuruvilla contacted the Chief Minister through Salim Raj’s mobile phone, a woman identified as the CM’s daughter spoke to him. She told Kuruvilla that since he was a Christian, the ‘commission’ was reduced to 20 per cent. Still, Kuruvilla refused to pay such a huge amount. On October 17, 2012, Kuruvilla met Oommen Chandy once again at the Cliff House and handed over a petition requesting to register case against Andrew, Binu Nair and Diljith.

The letter was forward by the Chief Minister to then DGP K S Balasubramaniam, and further to then Kochi range IG K Padmakumar. Finally, the complaint was handed over to then Thrikkakara ACP Bijo Alexander. However, no proper investigation has been carried out into the matter yet.

Kuruvilla alleged that I G Padmakumar took Rs 5 lakh as bribe, ACP Bijo Alexander Rs 3 lakh and SI Sathar Rs 50,000 from the accused for settling the case.

Also, Bijo Alexander misbehaved with Kuruvilla while persuading him to withdraw the complaint. He said that after lodging complaint against the accused, gangster Ravi Pujari threatened him over the phone. Later, he was trapped by the accused and the police arrested him in a false case.