Kasaragod: The Badiyadka Police on Sunday began preliminary inquiry into the bribery allegations raised by K Sundara against BJP's Kerala president K Surendran and other party leaders.
Sundara, a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate who filed nomination for contesting in Kerala Assembly polls from Manjeswaram against BJP's K Surendran and later withdrawn from the fray, had earlier claimed that BJP leaders had visited his home and gave him Rs 2.5 lakh and a mobile phone in March to withdraw from the election.
Following the revelations, LDF's Manjeswaram candidate V V Rameshan had filed a complaint with Superintendent of Police and District Collector. The inquiry was initiated based on this complaint. Apart from Badiyadka Police, a DySP also assigned to probe the veracity of the allegations.
According to the police, a preliminary probe report based on the complaint will be made and submitted before a court soon. Further action will be taken as per the directions of the court later.
On Sunday, K Sundara accused the BJP of issuing threats to him. He said BJP leaders demanded his mother to tell him that she had not accepted the money.
He added that he would reveal more information to the police, if he was questioned.
Recalling the incident before the poll, Sundara said he had demanded Rs 15 lakh from the BJP to withdraw from Assembly polls.
"BJP leaders visited my home and gave me Rs 50,000 and handed over Rs 2 lakh to my mother. I was also promised a wine parlour and residence in Karnataka. But, I was neither threatened nor physically assaulted. Surendran told me over the phone that all promises would be kept if he wins the polls," he said.
In the polls, Surendran lost to A K M Ashraf of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) by a margin of 745 votes.
Sundara said it was wrong on his part to accept money for withdrawing from the contest. Since he had filed the nomination papers as the candidate of a recognized party, his name would have figured right above the BJP candidate in the ballot.
The man said he cannot return the money since he had spent it. Ruling out any enticement, Sundara added that he made the revelations now on his own volition.
Following the incident, the police have decided to give security to Sundara.
Sundara had won 467 votes in 2016 Assembly polls as an independent candidate even as BJP's Surendran lost to Muslim League candidate P B Abdul Razak by a narrow margin of 89 votes.
Sundara, who had gone incommunicado a day before the deadline for withdrawing the nomination papers, surfaced a day later and announced his decision to withdraw from the polls.
