VS Achuthanandan first accused in land case

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The state government on Tuesday submitted before the Kerala high court that investigation in the Kasaragod land allotment case was over, and Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan will be arraigned as the first accused in the final report.

Former revenue minister KP Rajendran, former Kasaragod district collector NA Krishnankutty, VS’s relative TK Soman and VS’s personal assistant Suresh will be the other four accused, director general of prosecution (DGP) Asaf Ali told the court.

According to the DGP, all the officials had given statements that either VS or the then CM’s Office had exerted pressure on them to allot 2.3 acres to Soman, an ex-serviceman, in 2010.

The then land revenue commissioner KR Muralidharan, who was the third accused in the FIR, former principal secretary Sheela Thomas, and former Kasaragod collector Anand Singh have been excluded from the case as they had played “no culpable role” in the case, the DGP said. The state, in an application before the court, submitted that the accused had not challenged the maintainability of the FIR, even as they sought a directive to quash it. Thereon, Justice S Satheesachandran reserved his order on the VS petition.