Kerala molestation case: Leader of Opposition accuses CM Pinarayi Vijayan of sabotaging probe

Kochi: Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for his reported statement that there was no “conspiracy” behind the recent abduction and assault of a noted actress. “When the Chief Minister, who is also holding the Home portfolio, is saying that there was no conspiracy behind the incident…. is there any need for further evidence to prove that he was trying to sabotage the investigation into the case,” Chennithala said. He was speaking at a function organised in Kochi to conclude a 24-hour-fast by PT Thomas, Congress MLA from Thrikkakara, to protest the ‘rise in crimes against women in Kerala.’ Alleging conspiracy behind the incident, the Congress leader said some people were scared as they think that more facts would come out from a fair probe. [caption id=“attachment_2807410” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Ramesh Chennithala. Image courtesy: Facebook[/caption] Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team probing the case today took the key accused ‘Pulsar’ Suni and his accomplice VP Vigeesh to Coimbatore where they had allegedly fled after committing the crime. Police is looking for more evidence including the mobile phone used for allegedly clicking the pictures of the actress and the SIM cards used by the accused. The Aluva Judicial First Class Magistrate Court had on Saturday remanded the accused to police custody till 5 March. Seeking the custody of the key accused, police had said it wanted to conduct further probe into the ‘conspiracy angle’ in the abduction and harassment of the actress. An identification parade of the four other accused in the incident, Manikandan, Martin, Salim and Pradeep, was held at the Aluva sub-jail Saturday. The actress, who has starred in Tamil and Telugu films, was abducted and allegedly molested inside her car for two hours by the accused, who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of 17 February and later escaped in a busy area in Kochi.