Chennai: In an embarrassment to the Congress and its ally DMK in Tamil Nadu, the TNCC working president Mayura Jayakumar, has been summoned by the CB-CID for questioning in the Pollachi sexual assault case.
In an effort to establish an alibi, the prime accused Thirunavukkarasu has told investigating officers that on February 12 this year, the day he was allegedly involved in the sexual assault of a woman student in Pollachi, he was in Coimbatore with his father to meet Jayakumar.
With the case becoming an election issue, Jayakumar lost no time in clarifying his position to reporters. "On Feb. 12, the day the incident has taken place, the accused Thirunavakarasu has claimed that he has come to District Congress Committee office with his father and some other people to greet me. He just wants to record that he was not in Pollachi and he was in Coimbatore. I am in no way connected to him and his crime," said the Congress leader.
"Hundreds of people come to meet me in the office and he could have been one among them. It's a big hall and I cannot remember every face that comes to greet me. I have now enquired with people in Pollachi and was told that his father Kanagaraj was associated with the party, when GK Vasan was in the Congress. I do not know him or his son Thirunavukarasu, have never interacted with either of them, either in person or even on phone. In fact, I came to know about them only after this scandal broke out," Jayakumar said, adding that he had sent a reply to this effect to the CB-CID police after receiving theirsummons. n
Another story that was doing the rounds was about the involvement of local DMK functionary Thendral Selvaraj's son in the scandal, which forced the latter to clarify on social media that he is not personally known to the main accused Thirunavakkarasu.
With media reports and accusations from political platforms alleging involvement of influential people in both the Dravidian majors, the DMK and the AIADMK, in the Pollachi scandal, the news that the Crime Branch police have summoned a Congress state leader has created some fresh concerns relating to this sensational case. There have beenallegations of attempts by the state government and the police to shield some unnamed political bigwigs. With the Opposition parties using the case as a poll campaign weapon, the AIADMK Government recently transferred the investigation to the CBI but the Central
agency is yet to take charge of it.
