Kerala officials, politicians caught up in sex, lies and videotapes

Bang in the middle of a controversy surrounding the solar panel fraud case – where fraudsters cheated potential investors in solar and wind energy projects by using the chief minister’s office as a front – a seasoned politician had an interesting bit to share on public behaviour for political leaders.

He had started avoiding the stairs when he entered buildings and saw women using them. “I head straight for the elevator,” he said. A pause and chuckle later, he told the palpably entertained crowd: “You never know where trouble’s coming from.” The local television channels promptly mixed the byte in for laughs in their satirical shows. Beyond the humour there’s also a statement on recent incidents of a few women as conspirators and criminals, repeatedly hitting headlines with sex, lies and videotapes.

Sarita S Nair, one of the two prime accused in the solar panel fraud case, has overnight turned staple fare in Kerala’s living rooms. She, along with her partner Biju Radhakrishnan, had built a company portfolio on lies and connections with senior government officials and people close to chief minister Oommen Chandy. TV networks are churning out frenzied takes on everything from her childhood days to early crimes and latter-day confidence that led people – including political heavyweights – into believing her tall claims. The lies and allegations have already tanked careers of three staff members in the CM’s office. Emerging reports point to strong links she and her partner shared with the police and political establishment, including leaders in the Left-led opposition parties. Never has the state witnessed such political turbulence in a scam anchored by a woman.

While pegging the alarm on rising female criminality to an individual case may appear far-fetched, Sarita’s story is tempting enough to make a revisit to major recent crimes in Kerala with strong female presences. Sherin, a woman convicted for killing her father-in-law Bhaskara Karanavar in Chengannoor, was reported to have led a swanky lifestyle before the law did catch up. The intent to kill was clearly driven by the riches she coveted. Shobha John, a self-styled thug who ran a gang of hitmen indulging in extortion, was another big story when she emerged nailing no less than the former Sabarimala head priest. John was also involved in running a flesh trade racket. Dr Omana Edadan was arrested for killing her lover and chopping him up in pieces in 1996. Twelve years since she jumped bail and an Interpol notice later, she is still on the run.

Highly placed

Political bosses and powerful cops were all alleged to have connections with some of these criminals. The opposition parties have been targeting the government over the access its institutions offered to such women, helping them network with staff as highly placed as in the CM’s office. Chandramathi, a former state government employee and accused in the Total4U financial fraud case, was again in the news recently when former minister K B Ganesh Kumar shared a stage with her. Intelligence reports led most of the invited dignitaries – including the Chief Minister – to keep away from the event but clearly, it was not a total no-show either.

According to figures with the Kerala Prisons Department, there are 217 women inmates in the state’s prisons; a lean statistic when pitched against the number of men in these prisons: 6,644. Studies have over the years revealed how dysfunctional families, abuse and deprived childhoods set criminal instincts on. According to psychologists, attributing pattern to the changing female psyche would still be a swayed reaction. They say these crimes also need to be watched against the social changes and the rise of a markedly materialistic generation for which more is decidedly less. Kerala-born actress Leena Maria Paul, who along with her partner is facing charges of fraud running up to crores of rupees, is learnt to have had a thing for fancy cars. Shalu Menon, another actress, has been under the scanner for alleged links with Radhakrishnan and the solar panel fraud. The crimes, evidently, call for a sociological perspective as well.

Adding insight to the statistics is R Sreelekha IPS, ADGP (Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau) who recently wrote on the changing profile of female criminals in the state. In an analysis done for a Malayalam daily, she said her interactions with female criminals about 20 years ago showed her their ‘vulnerabilities.’ Most of them were forced into the crimes, sometimes by their abusive spouses or as retaliation to crimes committed against them. The face has changed; while there still are women being charged for crimes like selling hooch or small-time thefts, the focus is shifting to a new breed of hardened, scheming criminals – mostly in the 35-40 year age group – using their charms and high connections to kill or trigger megabuck frauds.

Jose Thettayil, the JDS MLA who is in the dock over allegations of sex abuse made by a woman in Ernakulam, has not made a public appearance since the scandal broke out. Sociologists point out that women who come out in the open with recorded evidence of physical acts to nail the abuser – irrespective of the evidence being genuine or tampered – also mirror a social change. In political terms, however, the Thettayil tape doubled up as a leveller. The MLA who is in the opposition fold led to a lull in the Left ranks, holding them back – albeit briefly – from going hammer and tongs against a government struggling under the solar scam heat.