The Special CBI Court in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday granted bail under stringent conditions to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s former personal security officer Salim Raj and six others who were arrested in the sensational Kadakampally land grab case even as reports said that the office of the State Advocate General had indirectly helped Salim Raj and others in the land-grab affair.
As per the conditions imposed under which the court granted bail to the seven accused, they should not enter Thiruvananthapuram district where the fraud was committed. They should not try to influence or threaten witnesses or anybody connected with the case in any way. Also, they should appear in the Kochi office of the CBI every Saturday.
The CBI had arrested Salim Raj and his six associates in the land grab scam after the agency found irrefutable evidences for their role in the scandal. According to the CBI, Salim Raj had misused his official position as gunman of the CM to commit the fraud.
The case pertains to the bid to grab 44.5 acres of land owned legally by 147 families in Kadakampally village in Thiruvananthapuram district by gaining court verdict through false representations. The gang had forged documents and manipulated ownership records to grab the land, valued at over Rs200 crore.