P.C. George arrested, released on bail in sexual assault case

High drama and vindictive politics behind high-profile arrest

Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) leader P.C. George being arrested by the police from the Government Guest House in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.

The Museum police on Saturday arrested Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) leader, P. C. George on the charge of behaving in a sexually inappropriate manner towards a woman named as prime accused in the politically stormy solar investment fraud case.

The police booked him on the charge of outraging the modesty of a woman under Sections 354 and 354 (A) of the Indian Penal Code.  A magistrate court released Mr. George on conditional bail.

High drama and vindictive politics marked Mr. George’s high-profile arrest. Mr. George alleged the case was “false, fabricated and orchestrated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to exact political vengeance.”

He warned Mr. Vijayan to brace for a "decent" payback. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president K. Surendran said Mr. George was the victim of a political witch hunt. Of late, Mr. George had expressed support to the Sangh Parivar cause.

Mr. George said the complainant was the architect of an elaborate scheme to defraud investors by falsely promising them good returns on "non-existent" solar farms.

Mr. George alleged the complainant had been the Communist Party of India (Marxist)‘s [CPI(M)] cat’s paw for years. The party had used her questionable statement to ensnare a galaxy of Congress leaders, including former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, in a sex-for-political patronage case currently under CBI investigation.

Mr. George said the woman had asked him to testify in her favour. "I demurred and earned her ire," he said.

The arrest occurred at the Government Guest House, Thycaud. While being escorted to the police vehicle, Mr. George allegedly identified the complainant, drawing questions from a woman journalist about the "impropriety of the statement". Mr. George reportedly retorted whether he should name the woman journalist instead.

Other journalists protested the remark, resulting in a heated back-and-forth. The Kerala Union of Working journalists (KUWJ) filed a complaint against Mr. George. Several Ministers too condemned Mr. George's statement.

Several twists and turns seemed to shape the police probe into the conspiracy to denigrate the government. The Crime Branch has named Mr. George, and UAE diplomatic baggage gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh as co-conspirators. The solar accused has testified against them to the police. The CPI(M) perceived a BJP-Congress axis behind the plot to scandalise Mr. Vijayan and his family.