Sexual assault case: CBI to end probe against Hibi over complaint of solar-scam accused

Kochi: The CBI is set to end probe against Hibi Eden, MP, over a sexual assault case filed by an entrepreneur who was earlier booked in the sensational solar scam years ago. The central agency couldn’t make any headway as no evidence was forthcoming.

The complainant too failed to submit proof substantiating her allegation.

The complainant woman has accused Hibi of sexually exploiting her at his room in the Nila Block of the MLA Hostel in Thiruvanathapuram. The alleged incident dates back to 2012.

She has raised similar complaints against five other Congress leaders including former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal.

Earlier, the CBI had summoned the complainant to its Delhi office and recorded her statement. The CBI took over the investigation into the separate cases over the sexual abuse in August 2021.

The cases against six leaders were registered over the last several years and investigated earlier by the Crime Branch of the Kerala Police based on a complaint by the woman that she was sexually exploited by them in 2012. She is an accused in the multi-crore solar panel scam that shook the Oommen Chandy-led United Democratic Front government nearly a decade ago.

The CPM-led Kerala government had recommended a CBI inquiry into the abuse cases last year, just ahead of the state polls.

The opposition Congress had dubbed the move as “politically motivated”, saying the CPM-led government could not find anything against the party leaders and took the decision as elections were around the corner.

Besides Chandy, Venugopal and Hibi Eden, Adoor Prakash MP, A P Anil Kumar, and BJP leader A P Abdulla Kutty are the accused in six different cases registered over the sexual abuse charge.