Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had no role in solar scam: Sreedharan Nair to police

 The solar panel scam appears all set to devour Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and the 24-month-old United Democratic Front government in Kerala.

The latest revelations that emerged on Monday have made Chandy a suspect in the multi-crore scam.

They include the reported submission by a victim in the scam on July 6 that Sarita S. Nair, the second accused in the case, met him on July 9, 2012, at the CM's secretariat office in his presence.

According to Sreedharan Nair's affidavit, Chandy had recommended that he should hire Sarita's firm "Team Solar".

The ADGP also stated that retrieval of data from CCTVs in the Chief Minister's office is yet to be done. So far such retrieval had never been undertaken in any criminal case in Kerala, he stated.
The investigating team had been exploring the possibility of such retrieval utilising all available technologies, including those available with Non Government agencies, the court was informed.
The statement was filed on a petition by one Joy Kaitharath, seeking to retrieve CCTV data of CM's office.
Opposition the Left Democratic Front has launched a major agitation demanding Chandy's resignation. Earlier on Monday, Chandy for the first time admitted that he had met Sreedharan but denied Sarita's presence at the meeting.
He claimed Sreedharan had met him on an issue related to quarrying. The scam going on for three years came to light on June 3 with the arrest of Sarita.
The arrest was based on the complaint filed by businessman K. Sajjad saying he was duped by her and Radhakrishnan in 2012 offering to set up solar panels at his office.
On July 6, Shalu Menon, an actor and member of the Central Board of Film Certification was also arrested for involvement in the scam. 
 The scam relates to cheating people of huge sums by the accused Biju Radhakrishnan and Saritha Nair by offering solar energy solutions.
The case assumed a serious political dimension with the arrest of Tenny Joppan, a personal assistant in the Chief Minister's office, for his alleged links with the accused.
As a spin-off, former Director of Public Relations Department A Firoz and tele-actress and danseuse Shalu Menon were also arrested in a related case. Shalu and Joppan were released on bail last month.