Kerala promises probe into minister's misconduct

The CPM-led Left Democratic Front government in Kerala will launch a judicial inquiry into the allegations that resulted in the resignation of Transport Minister A K Saseendran. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here on Monday that all the details, including the judge who would lead the probe, would be decided at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Saseendran, a senior Nationalist Congress Party leader, had stepped down on Sunday in connection with a leaked audio clip in which he is reportedly heard speaking with an unidentified woman in a sexually explicit manner. “Under normal circumstances, a resignation follows findings from a preliminary probe, but he (Saseendran) decided that this was the right thing to do,” Vijayan said.

Saseendran resigned a few hours after the clip was released by a newly launched television news channel. The clip doesn’t have the woman’s voice and the channel has not clarified whether or not the exchange was consensual.