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PC George held in sexual assault case, gets bail
After coming out of the court, P C George reiterated his charges against the Kerala CM. “My fight has just begun. I stand with all charges I raised against the CM including his role in the gold smuggling, his trips to the United States and allegations against the firm owned by his daughter,” he said
Former legislator and Kerala Congress leader P C George was arrested on Saturday for sexual harassment after a complaint was filed against him by an accused in the 2013 solar panel scam, police said.
But police suffered a setback after a court in the state capital granted him bail in the night after four-hour hearing. The court agreed to the contention of George that he was not given a proper notice and he was summoned for questioning in another case. But the court directed him to co-operate with investigating officers and appear before them as and when required.
After coming out of the court he reiterated his charges against the CM. “My fight has just begun. I stand with all charges I raised against the CM including his role in the gold smuggling, his trips to the United States and allegations against the firm owned by his daughter,” he said.
On Saturday afternoon, he was taken into custody by the Museum police from a guest house in the capital in a dramatic move. The special investigation team (SIT), probing a conspiracy case filed by former Kerala minister KT Jaleel in connection with the gold smuggling case, had summoned George for questioning.
While his questioning was in progress, the survivor, aged 45, filed a sexual harassment case against him at a local police station alleging sexual harassment, officials aware of the developments said.
A case under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 354 A (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against him. Soon after filing a first information report (FIR), a team led by the Cantonment assistant commissioner took George into custody, officials added.
While speaking to the reporters outside the police station, George again courted controversy by insulting a woman TV journalist who questioned him naming the accused, which is illegal.
In her complaint, the survivor said she was summoned by George to the state guest house on February 10 to discuss the gold smuggling case and main accused Swapna Suresh’s statement she gave in a local court under section 164 of the CrPC last month, which raised serious charges against chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family.
During their time at the guest house, George made some advances toward her insulting her modesty and also sent her indecent messages over the mobile phone, according to the complaint.
An accused in the 2013 Kerala solar panel case, the survivor has been convicted in four related cases and is out on bail.
Before his arrest, George said he was framed by CM Vijayan in a “cooked up case.”
“It is a well-planned and executed arrest. The arrest was made without any investigation based on a cooked-up complaint. It seems the CM has turned blind after serious allegations cropped up against his daughter. He is misusing his official machinery to target my father,” said Shon George, his son, adding that the CM misused the system to implicate political detractors.
After gold smuggling accused Swapna Suresh’s statement in the first week of June, Jaleel filed a case against her, George and journalist Nandakumar on June 18 accusing them of plotting a coup against the CM.
While George was arrested in a different case during his deposition before the SIT, Nandakumar was arrested last week. The Kerala high court had stayed the arrest of Swapna Suresh.
A senior leader, George represented Poonjar (Kottayam) assembly constituency for more than 25 years, and he started his career with the Kerala Congress, a regional party dominated by Christians. In 2017, he formed a new party, Kerala Janapaksham, and aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Though George was closely associated with the BJP, its leaders are yet to comment on his arrest. Industry minister P Rajeev said the arrest was part of the ongoing investigation and politics was not involved.
