RK Nagar bypoll case: Police oppose plea for CBI probe

Police on Wednesday opposed in the Madras High Court a plea for CBI probe into alleged cash distribution to voters that led to cancellation of bypolls in RK Nagar Assembly seat in 2017, saying the case was properly investigated and the FIR quashed by a single judge bench last year.

In a counter-affidavit filed on a batch of petitions, inspector of the Abhiramapuram Police Station, where the FIR was registered on April 27, 2017, submitted that the probe was carried out under proper supervision as per the direction of the high court and a total of 882 witnesses were examined.

The probe was carried out in "a fair, proper and unbiased manner" evidenced by the recording of statements from various persons, the inspector said in the counter affidavit filed before a bench of Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice N Seshasayee.

No malice or bias could be attributed to the police which investigated the matter as the case file was produced before the single judge bench that was pleased to quash the FIR, he submitted.

It further said there was no complaint on the file of the police by virtue of the order passed by the high court on March 13, 2018 quashing the FIR and sought dismissal of the petitions seeking CBI investigation.

The bench is hearing petitions by M P Vairakannan and then DMK nominee Marudu Ganesh, who had initially sought registration of the FIR over alleged malpractices in the run up to the April 12, 2017 bypoll in RK Nagar assembly constituency here, leading to its cancellation.

The bypoll, necessitated by the death of chief minister Jayalalithaa in December 2016, was later held in December 2017.

The matter relates to searches and seizure of documents by the Income Tax Department in various places on April 7, 2017 allegedly related to bribing of voters which led to the cancellation of the polls then.

On a direction by the Election Commission, the returning officer of the constituency had lodged a police complaint on April 27, 2017 based on which the FIR was registered.

Later, the petitioners sought a CBI probe.

During an earlier hearing last year, the court was informed that the FIR registered in the case had been quashed by the single judge on a petition by then Thiruvallur MLA Narasimhan.

Astonished by the submission, the bench had then asked the state government whether it has challenged the single judge order and also directed the police to file its counter.