Achuthandan's plea in sex racket case posted for Feb 19

A special investigation team in its report filed in the Judicial Magistrate Court had stated that there was no evidence to substantiate the charges made by an estranged relative of Kunhalikutty that the probe into the ice cream parlour sex scandal case was sabotaged at the IUML leader's behest.

The case pertains to allegations that an ice cream parlour in Kozhikode beach was used as a cover for running a sex racket in the late 1990s.

Though Kunhalikutty never became an accused in the case, he had come under a cloud in the wake of the scandal and even had to quit the ministry then.

The IUML leader's name resurfaced during the fag end of the previous LDF regime when the relative of Kunhalikutty alleged that he had helped him to wriggle out of the case by bribing the witnesses among other things.

The then Achuthanandan Government had ordered a fresh probe by the SIT, which later submitted the report giving a clean chit to Kunhalikutty.