The G. Sivarajan Commission that probed the sensational multi-core solar scam of 2013 has concluded that former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his office through personal staff Tenny Joppen, Jikkumon Jacob, gunman Salim Raj, and Delhi-based friend Thomas Kuruvila had helped the prime accused Saritha S. Nair and Biju Radhakrishnan and their company Team Solar to cheat their clients.
This along with the other nine main conclusions of the commission in its 1,073 page report submitted to the government on September 26 were revealed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday.
The commission has also found that former Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, who also handled Vigilance, had tried to illegally destroy evidence and had influenced police personnel working under him to help Mr. Chandy to steer clear of criminal liability. Simlarily, former Power Minister Arayadan Mohammed had illegally helped the solar company.
The Special Investigation Team under A. Hemachandran, the then Additional Director General of Police, South Zone, had nefariously tried to help the former Chief Minister. The SIT comprising the IGP, Thiruvananthapuram Range K. Padmakumar and Dy.SP. K. Harikrishnan also did not bother to check the documents and case diary which had cited the role of the Ministers, Union Ministers, officials, legislators and police officials who probed the solar scam, the commission noted.
All the Ministers who participated in the inauguration of Team solar, legislators who had recommended for installing solar street lights and two former Congress legislators, Benny Behanan and Thamapanoor Ravi, who tried to end the criminal cases involving Team Solar partners, had also tried to help the former Chief Minister.
The commission had found that there was evidence to prove that those mentioned in the July 19, 2013 letter of Ms. Nair had contacted her and the advocate.
The commission has recommended disciplinary action against G.R. Ajith, former secretary of the Kerala Police Association, for accepting ₹20 lakh bribe from Team Solar. The Commission has recommended the government to look into whether the provisions of the Police Act can be invoked against him. An agency had been recommended by the commission to uphold the discipline in the police force.
The police and jail authorities are not providing adequate security to the undertrials and convicts while taking them to the court. The law enforcers had been asked to such steps to ensure security to the under-trials and convicts.
The visuals of the CCTV in the Secretariat should be stored for a minimum of one year or a 500 GB hard disk should be installed. The images should be copied after 15 days and stored securely, the commission has noted. It also recommended the streamlining of Anert for taking forward the solar projects and its implementation.
The commission has noted that new cases can be registered on getting complaints about solar scan and that inquiry can be carried out on old cases on getting documents and evidence. The commission has also concluded that provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act can be invoked against those who had received sexual favours in addition to bribe from the partner of Team Solar.
