Thiruvananthapuram:
The Congress-led United Democratic Front government, already facing the heat in the solar scam, today suffered another setback when the Kerala High Court expressed its dissatisfaction with the progress in the ongoing investigation.
The state government faced some uncomfortable questions from the court over whether a probe was not required to find out if a Bangalore-based businessman was cheated with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy knowing about it.
Kuruvilla, a Bangalore-based planter, had complained that two persons, one of them claiming to be a relative of Mr Chandy as well as member of his personal staff, cheated him of over Rs one crore by offering to install solar panels.
The court wanted to know where the money collected by the accused in solar panel cheating case had gone and whether those who lost the money would get it back.
Another bench, while hearing the bail plea of TV actress Shalu Menon, observed that the "investigation was not satisfactory".
Saritha Nair, another accused in the case, had yesterday informed the Economic Offences Court that she wanted to give a written version of her statement to the magistrate. The judge asked if the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the scam was aware of this fact and what were the reasons for the non-disclosure of this to the Kothamangalam Magistrate Court.
Following the court remarks, opposition leader V S Achuthanandan repeated his demand for Oommen Chandy's resignation. Calling the court remarks "very serious", the Left Democratic Front (LDF) leader said, "As long as Oommen Chandy continues as the Chief Minister, there cannot be any unbiased investigation."
The state government faced some uncomfortable questions from the court over whether a probe was not required to find out if a Bangalore-based businessman was cheated with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy knowing about it.
Kuruvilla, a Bangalore-based planter, had complained that two persons, one of them claiming to be a relative of Mr Chandy as well as member of his personal staff, cheated him of over Rs one crore by offering to install solar panels.
The court wanted to know where the money collected by the accused in solar panel cheating case had gone and whether those who lost the money would get it back.
Another bench, while hearing the bail plea of TV actress Shalu Menon, observed that the "investigation was not satisfactory".
Saritha Nair, another accused in the case, had yesterday informed the Economic Offences Court that she wanted to give a written version of her statement to the magistrate. The judge asked if the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the scam was aware of this fact and what were the reasons for the non-disclosure of this to the Kothamangalam Magistrate Court.
Following the court remarks, opposition leader V S Achuthanandan repeated his demand for Oommen Chandy's resignation. Calling the court remarks "very serious", the Left Democratic Front (LDF) leader said, "As long as Oommen Chandy continues as the Chief Minister, there cannot be any unbiased investigation."
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