Biju Radhakrishnan inside the Police vehicle en route to collect the evidence. File photoLoaded with sex, lies and videotapes, the solar scam case promised the twists and turns of a scintillating thriller from the onset. The height of the drama was reserved for a mid-December day when a suspect took the police force on a ride in a televised procession from Kochi to Coimbatore in search of a CD, which he claimed contained incriminating evidences against top political leaders in Kerala.
2015 December 10 dawned with anticipation. Biju Radhakrishnan, one of the key accused in the case, had promised to present crucial evidence before a judicial commission probing the scam. Radhakrishnan, however, appeared before Justice G Sivarajan empty-handed. He had an explanation though.
One of the copies of the clip was abroad, while another one was with the police team which nabbed him from Coimbatore. There was yet another copy at a location just six hours away from Coimbatore, he told the retired judge. He promised he could produce that copy if he were allowed just 10 hours.
Justice Sivarajan went into a huddle with advocates and police officers. The consensus was in favor of letting Radhakrishnan to reclaim the CD. Two police officers from the armed reserve camp and two officers of the commission escorted Radhakrishnan to Coimbatore. Advocate Harikumar from the commission also accompanied the team but Radhakrishnan’s advocate was kept away.
The six-member team had strict instructions not to use mobile phones but television broadcasting units chased the team all the way to Coimbatore, splashing minute details of the trip on to television screens. The journey was telecast live until the team reached Coimbatore around 8 pm.
A police team from Palakkad was escorting the team. Radhakrishnan had told the police that he had entrusted the CD with one Chandran from Shanmugharajapuram near Ukkadam. Chandran was not at home, his mother and brother told the police. Chandran’s mother told the police that Radhakrishnan was a relative of Chandran’s wife.
The police searched the house but found nothing. An hour and a half later, Chandran appeared with a bag but the police could not find any electronic device as Radhakrishnan claimed.
Radhakrishnan sought to pass the blame to the media. He said he was not able to recover the CD because of the media limelight. The commission lambasted the media for the indiscretion. The commission said the police and the media were celebrating the procession.
Radhakrishnan stuck to his guns and offered to go on another hunt for the CD before the next sitting of the commission. The commission, however, refused to entertain the accused and told him to produce the proof. Nothing was heard of the CD since then.
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