No proof against Arunkumar, HC told

KOCHI: The state government on Thursday informed the Kerala High Court that a preliminary inquiry into the complaint made by Santhosh Madhavan has not revealed any proof of guilt against V A Arunkumar, son of Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan.The allegation was that Santhosh Madhavan had paid Rs 70 lakh to Arunkumar for reclaiming 120 acres of paddy field in Vadayar.S Radhakrishnan, SP, VACB, Special Investigation Unit, Thiruvananthapuram, submitted the report on a petition filed by V K Raju, state general secretary, Indian Lawyers Congress, alleging improper investigation.Radhakrishnan submitted that there was no sufficient material to prove prima facie offence of guilt against Arunkumar in the case.The report said that it was unfair to act on the solitary statement of a complainant for registering a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act in the absence of any material to link the accused with the crime.The report added that the call details of the mobile phones used by Arunkumar, advocate Deepthi and Santhosh Madhavan were yet to be obtained from the service providers to ascertain the presence of the accused at the place of alleged payment of bribe.“The bank accounts of Santhosh Madhavan was verified and it could be seen that he had withdrawn `80 lakh on September 6, 2010.Arunkumar, when questioned by the team, flatly denied the allegations and said that he had never seen Santhosh Madhavan,” the report said.On the other hand, accused Deepthi had admitted her closeness and contact with Madhavan.She also admitted that she had close contact with Arunkumar as a family friend and Arun used to contact her over phone in connection with the IHRD cases.The officer submitted that Arun and Deepthi denied their presence at the flat owned by Santhosh Madhavan at Kadavanthra or at the Thalayolaparambu lodge at any point of time.“In the absence of any material to link the accused with the crime, it seems to be unfair on the part of the police to act upon the statement of Santhosh Madhavan, who is a convict in rape case,” the report said.