Kerala CM orders judicial probe into solar panel scam

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy announced a judicial probe by a sitting judge of the high court on Tuesday into the solar scam, even as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) refused to end its indefinite siege of the state secretariat.

The solar panel scam involved a fraudulent solar energy company, Team Solar, in Kerala, India, which used two women to create political contacts with links even to the Chief Minister's office, and duped several people to the tune of crores of rupees, by offering to install solar power units for them and receiving advance payments for the installation.

The Team Solar Energy Company, (Team Solar) floated by the main accused Saritha Nair, an actress and Director of the company. The total amount involved in the scam, calculated on the basis of complaints, is less than Rs.10 crores, but has generated large scale protests, especially by the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

The CPI-M has demanded Chandy's resignation for his alleged role in the scam.

After assessing the prevailing situation on ground with senior Congress leaders and UDF partners, Chandy told reporters here that his government is ready to discuss the terms-of-reference of the judicial inquiry with Left Democratic Front (LDF) leaders.

He appealed to the LDF to call off its agitation in Thiruvananthapuram in view of the decision to hold a judicial probe into the scam.

He said the government had made it clear earlier itself that it had an open mind on instituting any kind of probe once the Special Investigation Team (SIT) completed its ongoing criminal investigation into the scam.

Chandy, however, ruled out his resignation while the judicial probe is on.

He said government would seek the services of a high court judge for the probe.