Kochi: The CBI has given a clean chit to Opposition Leader V.S. Achuthanandan and lobbyist T.G. Nandakumar in the controversial data centre case.
The CBI also closed the preliminary inquiry launched into the case and submitted before Kerala High Court that without substantive evidence, no action could be initiated against Nandakumar despite proving that he is a fraudulent person.
The CBI closed the case for want of evidence.
CBI SP Krishna Kumar V.K., who filed the report before the court, said that the preliminary inquiry conducted by it had revealed that the awarding of the tender was genuine and without mala fide.
The report added that the inquiry did not substantiate the allegations that the tenders were awarded by diluting the eligibility criteria.
The CBI concluded that the tendering process was done in a transparent and genuine manner and without any extraneous considerations. All the evidence pointed to a fair tendering process.
In its closure report, the CBI made it clear that Nandakumar is a pucca fraudster. He was misusing names of certain authorities occupying high positions, apparently without any substance, but in the absence of any complaint from the purported victims, no case would stand the scrutiny on law.
Nandakumar has possession of six immovable properties worth Rs 97.82 lakhs in Kerala and a flat worth Rs 2.54 crore in Delhi. He has donated Rs 10.65 lakh to a temple and spent about Rs 40 lakh on air tickets. The income tax department is conducting a detailed investigation into the sources of money transactions by Nandakumar.
There were allegations against the then Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and four others — former director of the Kerala State IT Mission Retan Khelkar, former IT secretary Ajay Kumar, T.G. Nandakumar, and Mohan Sukumar – in the awarding of the tender. Government Chief Whip P.C. George had sought a CBI probe into the allegations. Subsequently, the government had ordered a CBI probe.
