Aravana row: TDB allowed to file complaint

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, NOV. 12.

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday allowed the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to file a criminal complaint before the Inspector General of Police (Crime) in connection with presence of rat tail in an `Aravana' container distributed during the last Sabarimala season and directed the IG to investigate the matter on the basis of the complaint.

The Bench comprising Mr. Justice V.P. Mohankumar and Ms. Justice A. Lakshmikutty directed the IG to file monthly reports on the progress of the investigation.

The directions were issued when the case relating to the detection of rat tail came up before the court. The case was initiated suo motu by the court on the basis of a newspaper report saying that a rat tail was found in an aravana container distributed at Sabarimala during the last season.

The High Court had earlier ordered an inquiry into the incident by the DIG, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. In the two reports submitted to the court, the DIG had concluded that it was not rat tail, but a boiled grape. The reports were filed in December 2000 and January 2001.

The court had observed that these reports could not be relied upon as the reports mentioned about the presence of hair in the `aravana' manufacturing units. As the court was dissatisfied with the reports, another inquiry by Mr. K. P. Somarajan, IG of Police, and Mr. B. Ashok Kumar, Deputy Director of Health Services, had been ordered. In their report, they pointed out that what was found was a raw rat tail and not a cooked tail. Therefore, they concluded that some foul play could be suspected in this incident.

The court, while allowing the TDB to file a complaint to investigate into the foul play, observed that sufficient ground had been made out for permitting the Board to file a complaint.

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Section  : Southern States
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