KOCHI: The Kochi City Police on Friday recorded the statements of Bharatiya Janata Party leader C G Rajagopal (Muthu) and Edappally-based builder Manoj Melethil, in connection with the engineering admission scam uncovered in the city recently.
Both of them were called for questioning in view of their perceived acquaintance with Jayesh Kumar, the prime accused in the case, and to probe whether they had any role in the scam.
Rajagopal in his statement said he knew Jayesh as a member of the Hindu Economic Forum.
Rajagopal said he had nothing to do with Jayesh’s financial dealings, and that he visited Hyderabad along with Jayesh for solving a dispute with his business partner.
Hyderabad is the nearest city to Jayesh’s unaffiliated college, where he is alleged to have collected huge amounts from scores of students after promising them admission in a well-known college.
Meanwhile, Rajagopal said he visited the police station to give statement as a witness in the case.
“I visited the police station in the evening and gave my statement. It lasted not more than one hour,” BJP leader said.
The city police said that Edappally-based builder Manoj had a closer acquaintance with Jayesh, and that further probe into his financial dealings was required. The probe team has launched a search for Jayesh’s sister Jisha R Pillai.