KOCHI: It has been a year since the five apartment complexes at Maradu turned to dust following a Supreme Court directive. However, the Crime Branch inquiry into the misappropriation of government land and violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms by the builders is now in cold storage as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up for the purpose has been headless for the past couple of months.
The SIT probe is based on three cases registered against the builders by Maradu and Panangad police. Interestingly, former panchayat president and CPM leader K A Devassi was among the suspects, but the statements of Devassi and about 250 flat owners have not been recorded yet.
The SIT headed by the then DySP Jossy Cherian made arrests and were initiating the steps to file the chargesheet. However, the entire proceedings were undermined after Jossy Cherian was promoted and transferred to Kollam city.
“The accused had reportedly destroyed crucial documents regarding the granting of permission for the construction with the consent of the panchayat administration in 2006. Hence, the SIT faced a tough task. At that juncture, the DySP who was heading the probe was transferred. Though another DySP has been given the charge, the investigation has come to a standstill,” said a Crime Branch source. “The investigation under DySP Jossy Cherian was heading in the right direction but it was undermined,” alleged T K Devarajan, former chairman of Maradu Municipality. Along with the CB probe, an inquiry by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau was also running parallel. It is also not over yet.