The Crime Branch (CB) confirmed late on Thursday that they had formally accused three Congress legislators of having sexually exploited solar energy investment fraud case suspect Saritha S. Nair in reciprocation for political favours when the Oommen Chandy government was in power in 2013.
The Congress leaders tossed under a cloud of suspicion in the crucial run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha election are Hibi Eden, MLA, and former Ministers A. P. Anil Kumar and Adoor Prakash, both MLAs.
The court filings appeared to have dimmed the political prospects of Mr. Eden and Mr. Prakash whose names were bandied about as potential Lok Sabha candidates in Ernakulam and Alappuzha respectively.
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The leaders have denied the CB accusation and claimed they were the victims of a political witch-hunt even as their political opponents sought to weaponise the indictment.
Last year, the CB had booked Mr. Chandy on the charge of rape following a written complaint by Saritha. The details of the FIRs filed in a court in Kochi remained mostly secret.
However, investigators said the agency had slapped a charge of rape against Mr. Eden and booked Mr. Prakash and Mr. Anil Kumar on charges of unnatural sex and outraging the modesty of women.
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The sex-for-political-patronage scandal has been haunting the United Democratic Front (UDF) off and on since 2013.
It rocked the Oommen Chandy government and prompted the ignominious exit of Mr. Chandy's longtime aides Teeny Joppan, Jikkumon Jacob and his security officer Salim Raj.
The controversy acquired an edge in 2017 when the Sivarajan Commission that probed the solar scam concluded that top members of the UDF government had sought and received sexual favours from Saritha on the promise that they would help her promote her business.
The commission observed that sexual favours could be construed as illegal gratification under the anti-corruption law and recommended that the police investigate all persons named by Saritha as her exploiters.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tabled the commission's report in the Assembly amidst rancorous protests from the Opposition last September and ordered the police to register cases against a galaxy of UDF leaders against whom Saritha had cast under a pall of doubt.