Kerala govt orders judicial probe against central agencies, cites hindrance to development

Thiruvananthapuram: In line with its confrontationist stand against the Centre, the Kerala government on Friday ordered a judicial probe against central agencies investigating a slew of cases alleging that they were hampering development projects across the state.

The Cabinet has appointed Retd. Judge KV Mohanan as the Commissioner.

The Commission will consider five things, including the controversial audio recording of Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the gold smuggling case, and a letter written by co-accused PS Sarith. Both had alleged they were forced by investigators of the Enforcement Directorate to name Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as having links to people involved in the gold and dollar smuggling cases. A case has been filed by the state police against the ED investigators. 

As Kerala goes to polls on April 6, the approval of the Election Commission too is vital for initiating the judicial probe as the Model Code of Conduct is in force.

In November the state government had withdrawn the general consent accorded to the Central Bureau of Investigation for registering cases in the state. 

As reported earlier the central agencies have taken up investigations into several sensitive cases in which people associated with the Left Democratic Government or their kin are allegedly involved. These agencies are the Central Bureau of Investigation, National Investigation Agency, the Enforcement Directorate, the Customs Department, the Income-Tax Department, Narcotics Control Bureau and the Intelligence Bureau. 

The CPM-led LDF government alleges that the recent intervention of central agencies in Kerala has political motives.

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