THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has removed the final hurdle that stood in the way of a CBI inquiry into lottery violations. On Saturday, it notified 32 lottery cases under the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DPSE) Act so as to facilitate a CBI inquiry into the cases.“The state government has thus followed all the guidelines prescribed by the Centre for a CBI takeover of the lottery investigations,” an official statement here said. The cases include two cases registered in the Museum and Fort police stations against lottery king Santiago Martin and his associate John Kennedy.A notification under Section 6 of the DPSE Act was a matter of dispute between the Centre and the state when the LDF Govt was in power. The Union Home Ministry had argued that the CBI falls under the administrative control of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and that a notification under section 6 of the DPSE Act was a must.The then Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan had said such a demand was unconstitutional. The Centre, after the UDF came to power, repeated its demand. The UDF Govt complied. “A letter requesting the notification arrived at the CM’s office on Friday. The CM called an emergency meeting on Saturday. Senior officials of the Home, Taxes and Law Departments were present. The Finance Minister, who was in Kasargod, was contacted over phone before the notification was issued,” the statement said.It was Congress leader V D Satheesan’s petition that led to the recent High Court verdict ordering a CBI probe into other-state lottery violations.
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