THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The crime branch team probing the complaint filed by Mayor Arya Rajendran regarding the controversial letter will recommend to State Police Chief Anil Kant that a case needs to be registered for an in-depth probe as the letter has not yet been recovered. Since the mayor reiterated that the letter could be a forged one, an FIR needs to be registered for a detailed probe, a crime branch source said. The officers also said they could not come to a conclusion that the letter is a forged one because it is yet to be recovered.
The crime branch will submit the preliminary inquiry report containing the recommendations to the DGP on Monday or Tuesday. The deadline to submit the preliminary report is Tuesday. The state government has already instructed the police to submit the report before the High Court considers the case. “The letter has not yet been found. So we can’t say whether it is fake or forged. We strongly advise the DGP to announce a detailed probe by registering a case,” said crime branch SP S Madhusoodanan.
He also added that statement from Anavoor Nagappan will not be recorded, as their telephonic conversation with Anavoor will be considered as official recording of his statement. The crime branch is in a fix as it has not registered an FIR so far. Though considered to be a preliminary inquiry, the crime branch has to register an FIR as it is a cognisable offence. The ongoing probe will not have any legal standing, as the crime branch has not yet registered any case. As a cognisable offence, as per rules, a case has to be registered under Section 154 of CrPc without delay.
Vigilance quizzes 2 corporation staff
Vigilance sleuths on Sunday recorded the statements of Vinod and Girish -- two employees of the mayor’s office. They had earlier been served notices to appear before the officers. In their statement, they denied preparing the letter. On Saturday, the vigilance recorded statements of Mayor Arya Rajendran and CPM district secretary Anavoor Nagappan following a complaint lodged by former BJP corporation councillor G S Sreekumar. The statements were recorded as part of a preliminary inquiry launched on Friday.