THIRUVANTHAPURAM: State Police Chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb has ordered the Crime Branch to conduct further investigation into the case involving Fisheries Minister Saji Cheriyan’s controversial statement on the Indian Constitution. The police chief directed Crime Branch ADGP H. Venkatesh to form a team to investigate the case based on the order of the High Court, which had rejected the local police’s report on the matter. The High Court also quashed the Thiruvalla Judicial First Class Magistrate Court’s order exonerating the minister and ordered further investigation into the case, which had caused significant embarrassment for the minister and the LDF government.
Sources said that the Crime Branch head will announce the probe team on Friday. The High Court had earlier directed the police to assign the investigation to an honest officer from the Crime Branch.
The minister was accused of insulting the Constitution during a public speech at Mallappally on July 4. The speech sparked a major controversy, leading Cheriyan to resign as cabinet minister. However, he was reinstated after the Thiruvalla court gave him a reprieve. The High Court, finding lapses in the police report, has directed the police to conduct a further probe with a Crime Branch officer as the investigating officer.