Chandy to challenge Bengaluru court order

Thiruvananthapuram: Former chief minister Oommen Chandy Friday said that he would challenge the verdict of a Bengaluru court, directing him and five others to pay around Rs 1.6 crore with 12 per cent interest, to a businessman for a solar project that did not materialise.

"I am confident that I will be able to prove my innocence in the case," he told reporters here.

"The court verdict came due to my own carelessness. I did not take the case seriously as I was sure that I was not involved in it," he said.

The Congress leader said the petitioner in the case, businessman M K Kuruvilla, had met him when he was the chief minister and complained that he had been duped by his (Chandy) relative Andrews and Personal Assistant Daljit.

"I had told him that I did not have a relative by the name of Andrews or a Personal Assistant named Daljit. Still the complaint was handed over to the DGP for a probe," Chandy said.

A local court in Bengaluru had on October 24 directed six persons, including Chandy and a firm to together pay Rs 1,60,85,700 to Bengaluru-based businessman M K Kuruvilla, with 12 per cent interest.