KOCHI: Claiming a political conspiracy behind his naming as the second accused in the cheating case involving fake antique dealer Monson Mavunkal, Congress state president K Sudhakaran said that he would not appear before the Crime Branch team for questioning on Wednesday due to prior commitments.
“I have no role in this case, directly or indirectly. I am looking at how I have been named an accused in this case. The CPM government is trying to scare Opposition leaders by registering cases against them,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“I expect that I will get another date to appear before the probe team. If not, I will fight legally. The matters, including approaching the High Court will be decided after consultation with the lawyers. All the police officers involved in the scam should also be booked. It cannot be justified that the case is being registered against only a section of officials,” he said.
The KPCC chief criticised Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, asserting that Vijayan would have to face the law regarding the cases against him. He claimed that there were pending cases against Vijayan, which had been suppressed using his power but would eventually come to light.
Sudhakaran dismissed the notion that Opposition leaders could be frightened by filing cases against them, stating that Vijayan was living in a fool’s paradise if he believed so.
Sudhakaran admitted that he had met complainants who had lost money in the cheating case at Monson’s house but claimed that he had no further association with them.
“I approached Monson for treatment without knowing that he was a quack. When it was revealed that he was a fraud, he apologised. Therefore, I did not file a complaint against him. In the earlier complaint, the complainants did not mention my name. There are allegations that I made an offer to them as a member of the Public Affairs Committee, but I want to clarify that I was not a member of that committee during that time,” Sudhakaran added.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan supported Sudhakaran, asserting that the probe against him in the cheating case was a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the corruption allegations against the Chief Minister.
“The case against the KPCC president is false. It was filed by fabricating evidence and pressuring witnesses to provide false testimony. In order to accomplish this, the officer who was conducting the investigation properly was replaced with someone close to the ruling Left,” alleged Satheesan while addressing reporters in Aluva on Tuesday.
SUDHAKARAN HAS NO INVOLVEMENT: MONSON
Kochi: Fraudster Monson Mavunkal on Tuesday gave a clean chit to Congress state president K Sudhakaran. Monson said ‘the director general of police (DGP) and personal secretary of Pinarayi Vijayan’ were involved in the fraud. He was responding to reporters’ queries when he was produced before Additional Sessions Court as part of a rape case in Kochi. “Not only the DGP but even the personal secretary of the CM is linked to the case. I have already given all details to the Enforcement Directorate,” he said. When asked about the involvement of Sudhakaran, Monson said: “K Sudhakaran has no involvement in the case.”