FIR against Oommen Chandy for allegedly sexually assaulting Saritha Nair

Reacting to the FIR, former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said he will take legal recourse.

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The Kerala Crime Branch police on Saturday said it has registered a criminal investigation against former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy for allegedly sexually assaulting the solar energy investment fraud accused Saritha Nair at Cliff House, the official residence of Chief Minister, in Thiruvananthapuram in 2013. Reacting to this, Oommen Chandy on Sunday said that the move was politically motivated.

“This has happened before also and now this fresh development has surfaced because of the issues in Sabarimala. I will deal with this case legally and on Monday in the state capital, I will reveal more details,” Chandy said.

Kerala Police Chief and Director General of Police (DGP) Loknath Behara on Sunday told the media that a new FIR has been registered and a special team had been constituted to probe Nair's complaint. “Now, let the law takes its course,” said Behra.

The Crime Branch filed the first information report (FIR) on Saturday in the Chief Judicial Magistrate court in the state capital. It stated that the former CM sexually assaulted her in return for supporting her business in solar energy projects.

In the complaint, Saritha Nair said that in 2012 at Thiruvananthapuram, she was sexually abused by Chandy and Alappuzha Lok Sabha member KC Venugopal.

This fresh move comes after the Kerala High Court, while hearing Chandy's petition over the Solar Judicial Inquiry Commission report, said in May that findings of the Commission based on Saritha's letter need not be considered. A report submitted by Justice G Sivarajan Commission in September 2017 found that Oommen Chandy and his personal staff had helped Saritha.

The multi-crore solar energy investment fraud that rocked the Chandy government in 2013 was led by Saritha Nair and her partner Biju Radhakrishnan, as it came to light that a section of the Chief Minister's office had links with the couple.

Saritha’s letter named Chandy and numerous other top Congress leaders for sexually exploiting her, including former Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, who along with the Special Investigation Team probing the case, helped Chandy and his staff escape the criminal procedures in the infamous case.