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Channel produces copy of letter 'written' by Saritha

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Press Trust of India Kochi
A leading Malayalam news channel today produced a copy of a letter, said to be written by Saritha S Nair, the prime accused in Kerala's sensational solar panel scam, before a judicial commission probing the scandal.

Justice B Sivarajan Commission probing the scam, had issued directions to the news channel to produce the purported letter written by Saritha after it aired it.

Saritha had in the letter alleged that Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and a host of other leaders had sexually abused her.

Following the Commission's directive, the news channel also handed over a CD containing its interview with Saritha admitting ownership of letter claimed to have been written by her to the Commission secretary while she was in custody of the Perumbavoor police following her arrest in the solar scam two years ago.
 

Saritha had earlier refused to produce before the Commission the alleged letter about the "hardships" she allegedly suffered at the hands of powerful politicians while she was in police custody.

During her deposition before it, the Commission had sought the copy of the purported letter.

Chandy has filed a criminal defamation case against Saritha and four journalists of two news channels, complaining that they hatched a conspiracy to defame him by airing the news item on April 3 and 4, to the effect that he raped her.

The complaint filed before Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Ernakulam, said they released a "truncated letter (allegedly written by her while she was in judicial incarceration) wherein it is stated that she was raped by the complainant in his official residence--Cliff House, Thiruvananthapuram."

"Commonsense fails to comprehend as to how such an incident can occur in the Cliff House, where the complainant is residing with his family, and several security guards," the complaint said.

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First Published: Apr 22 2016 | 12:00 AM IST

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