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The case regarding fabrication of an intelligence document linking Kerala Tourism Minister K V Thomas to a Rs 3.4-billion hawala scandal has entered a crucial phase with the fourth accused, R Jayachandran, surrendering before the crime branch on Thursday.
A reporter of the Thaniniram daily, which is published from Thiruvananthapuram, Jayachandran is close to Congress legislator Shobhana George, who was arrested in connection with the case last month.
The scribe turned up at the crime branch office in Thiruvananthapuram along with his advocate Suresh Mathew at around 1200 IST. He was taken to another office for interrogation.
Surya TV reporter Anil Nambiar, who was the first to be arrested in connection with the case, had revealed the role of the Congress MLA and her aides in delivering the controversial document to him.
This led to the arrest of Shobhana's personal assistant Anil P Srirangan, the second accused in the case. Jayachandran had disappeared soon after the arrest of the MLA's PA. He evaded the police for a month-and-a-half.
Shobhana accused Chief Minister A K Antony of foisting the case against her for criticising him. Antony described it as part of a conspiracy to dislodge his government.
Her outbursts against the chief minister have invited disciplinary action from the party. The disciplinary committee of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee has barred her from taking part in party programmes till the case is settled.
The surrender of Jayachandran has come at a time when the investigation team is planning to file the charge sheet.
The crime branch is reported to have received vital clues regarding the SIM card used by the MLA and her aides for contacting various persons connected with the case. The SIM card was found taken in the name of a woman associated with the press in which the Thaniniram is printed.
The investigating team has also got some clues about the computer used for forging the document. They have identified two computers, including one belonging to a DTP centre at Chengannur, the constituency of Shobhana.
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