The prime accused in the solar scam case, Biju Radhakrishnan, deposed before a judicial commission on Wednesday, claiming that he gave Rs 5.5 crore to Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
The money was given in three instalments, of which Rs 5.1 crore was directly given to the chief minister at the Ernakulam guest house as directed by his personal gunman Salim Raj, the accused told the judicial commission.
The rest of the money was taken by the CM's personal assistants T Joppen and Jikkumon Jacob, said Biju, adding that they all had relationships with Saritha R Nair, who is another accused in the case.
He also claimed that CM Chandy promised to allocate 70 acres at KINFRA (Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation) in Palakkad for Team Solar along with 150 acres for setting up a wind farm project.
In return, the chief minister was promised 40% of the profit and agreed to make his son Chandy Oommen a shareholder of the company, he said.
Radhakrishnan added that the CM contacted him while he was hiding in Coimbatore and promised to bail him out in the event of being arrested by the police. He also claimed that the chief minister had sent Advocate Thomas Kondody thrice to meet him at jail and court, reports said.
However, Kondody dismissed the allegations, saying that the CM never tried to settle the case and added that he will register a case against the news channels for defamation.
