Kerala CM's statement on actress' molestation case comes back to bite him

Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday rejected Opposition's accusations that he has "denied" the "conspiracy" angle in the recent abduction and assault on a noted actress.

"I have not said that there was no conspiracy behind the incident," Vijayan told reporters a day after his reported remark on the issue triggered a row with Congress and BJP coming out against the Chief Minister.

"I only mentioned about a media report on the matter. Let the police probe all aspects," Vijayan said.

Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Chennithala alleged that Chief Minister was trying to sabotage the investigation into the case.

"When the Chief Minister, who is also holding the Home portfolio, is saying there was no conspiracy behind the incident...is there any need for further evidence to prove that he was trying to sabotage the investigation into the case," Chennithala said.

Chennithala was speaking at a function organised in Kochi to conclude a 24-hour fast by P T Thomas, Congress MLA from Thrikkakara, to protest against the "rise in crimes against women in Kerala".

KPCC President V M Sudheeran demanded a CBI probe into the incident, that evoked protest and condemnation from all sections in the society.

BJP State President Kummanom Rajasekharan alleged the CM's statement was to influence the investigation.

"The Chief Minister should reveal the source of his information as police are yet to complete collecting evidence," he said, adding "police should be given a free hand in the probe".

Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team probing the case took the key accused 'Pulsar' Suni and his accomplice V P Vigeesh to Coimbatore today, where they had allegedly fled to after committing the crime, as part of its probe.

Police are looking for more evidence including the mobile phone used for allegedly clicking the pictures of the actress and the SIM cards used by the accused.

The Aluva Judicial First Class Magistrate Court had yesterday remanded the accused to police custody till March 5.

Seeking the custody of the key accused, police had said, it wanted to conduct further probe into the "conspiracy angle" in the abduction and harassment of the actress.

An identification parade of the four other accused Manikandan, Martin, Salim and Pradeep, was held at the Aluva sub-jail yesterday.

The actress, who has starred in Tamil and Telugu films, was allegedly abducted and molested inside her car for two hours by the accused.

The accused had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17 and later escaped in a busy area in Kochi.