'Submit probe report in 3 months on Kerala minister's episode'

The Kerala cabinet on Wednesday appointed retired Justice P.S. Antony to conduct a judicial probe into the circumstances leading to the resignation of Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran.

Saseendran resigned on Sunday following the surfacing of an audio in which he was heard having a lewd conversation with a woman on phone.

The cabinet meeting that took place here directed the Commission to complete the probe in three months time.

The terms of reference of the probe were also decided. It includes finding out if there was a conspiracy into the entire episode besides if the audio tapes were edited among other things.

This news story was released by Mangalam TV channel as its opening story, the day the channel went live on air on March 26.

Following a huge public outcry against the unethical manner in which the TV channel aired this, they are currently engaged in a damage control exercise and have already claimed to have done nothing wrong.

The channel CEO R. Ajithkumar has gone on record and have said that they are duty-bound not to give out the details of the woman, with whom Saseendran had spoken.

However, the picture of the woman, has surfaced in the social media groups of journalists in the state capital here.

--IANS

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