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Journalism of Courage
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said today that he refused to undergo a lie-detector test while deposing before a judicial commission probing charges in the “solar scam” allegedly linked to his staff.
“The state exchequer has not incurred any loss in the issue, nor has the accused obtained any monetary advantage. I have not stated any lie and acted against my conscience. Why I should undergo a lie-detector test?’’ Chandy told reporters.
The Congress leader started his deposition before the commission on Monday and continued into the early hours of Tuesday. Official sources said Chandy’s refusal to undergo a lie-detector test was in response to a demand from the lawyer of prime accused Biju Radhakrishnan.
Radhakrishnan and his live-in partner Saritha S Nair were arrested in 2013 for allegedly duping investors from whom they collected crores for a solar power project.
In his statement, Chandy told the commission that he had met Saritha three times, but came to know about the charges of financial fraud only after her arrest.
Chandy stated that Saritha had contributed Rs 2 lakh to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund, which was acknowledged in writing from his office under his letterhead. This letterhead was found misused, he stated.
The Chief Minister also countered a statement from the state’s Intelligence ADGP
A Hemachandran that Saritha had met the Chief Minister at his office along with Sreedharan Nair, a granite quarry owner and one of the complainants in the scam.
Chandy told the commission that he had met Nair, but could not recall whether Saritha had come along with him.
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