KOCHI: Biju Radhakrishnan, the first accused in the solar panel scam case has been taken into custody by the special police team from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu on Monday. He had gone underground soon after the case raged a controversy in the state.
He was trapped by a team led by Kollam DySP through his mobile phone with the help of Tamil Nadu ‘Q’ branch. The police had intensified search operations in four teams to trace him.
State Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan confirmed the arrest of Biju Radhakrishnan.
"A team of Kerala Police with the help of Tamil Nadu’s Q branch made the arrest today (Monday) afternoon. I did speak to him last week. Now, in 24 hours, the police must produce him in court," Biju’s counsel said.
Biju had shaved off his moustache and made changes in his hair style so that nobody could identify him.
The other accused in the case, Saritha S. Nair, was arrested on June 3.
Saritha S. Nair, and her former live-in partner Biju Radhakrishnan, had formed a company “Team Solar”, engaged in erecting solar panels at offices and homes. They had managed to collect crores of rupees from influential people in the state on the promise of providing the equipment to tap green sources of energy.
Following numerous complaints of cheating, Saritha Nair was arrested.
Since her arrest, a TV channel came out with a list of calls made by her, which showed that she had maintained close links with the office of Chandy.
Biju Radhakrishnan has been brought to Kollam Crime Branch Office, where a criminal case is being made against him, dating back a few years, when his wife was murdered. He would be produced before a court at Kottarakkara on Tuesday.
The assembly witnessed uproarious scenes on Monday, with the Left opposition reiterating that Chandy should resign and order a judicial probe. The demands were flatly denied by the chief minister.
Meanwhile, the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) met and gave a clean chit to Chandy.
”The UDF has given a clean chit to the chief minister and the Left opposition is simply trying to kick up a needless controversy. He has already taken action and the probe is currently on,” state Labour Minister Shibu Baby John said, after the meeting.
Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) convenor Vaikom Viswan, however, said the arrest of the prime suspect is nothing but a stage-managed affair.
”The police will now do the job of cleaning up Chandy. But he has no other option but to quit and face a probe. We will not budge from this demand,” Viswan told reporters here.
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