A senior IPS officer, who is under investigation in the conman Monson Mavunkal cheating case, has levelled serious allegations against the Kerala Chief Minister’s Office.

G Lakshman, Inspector General of Police (IG), has alleged that an ‘extra-constitutional authority’ functions from the Chief Minister’s Office.

Lakshman made the allegation in a petition filed before the Kerala High Court, seeking to quash the FIR registered against him in the Monson Mavunkal cheating case.

Lakshman, the third accused in the cheating case, in his petition submitted before the Kerala High Court said that an ‘extra-constitutional authority’ functions from the Chief Minister’s Office, and  this authority mediates deals and compromises and even arbitrates on some of the state’s financial transactions. Even disputes sent by the HC to various arbitrators are resolved by this authority, he says in the petition.

This invisible hand and extra-constitutional brain operates behind the scene and commands an officer of Ernakulam Crime Branch on illegal activities, says the IG in his petition.

The police registered an FIR against him under Sections 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (use of forged documents or electronic records as genuine), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), and 120 B (criminal conspiracy). KPCC president K Sudhakaran is the second accused in the case.

The petitioner, who is at present working as an Inspector General (IG) of Police, Training, submitted that a departmental inquiry under the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules was conducted against him and he was given a clean chit.

Lakshman said that the allegations in the FIR do not hold any grounds, as neither witness statements nor the investigation conducted by the special team provided any evidence against him.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had also filed an affidavit in the High Court  that no senior police officer was involved in the Monson case, he said, and added  that he was falsely implicated in the case.The SIT has asked Lakshman to appear before it on 31 July.

Responding to the development, senior Congress leader K Muralidharan MP said that IG Lakshman’s disclosure is the first sign of the chief minister’s bad times. He said that if Sivasankar, CM’s former principal secretary, stays in jail for two more months, more than this will be exposed.

“Sivasankar will also reveal many things very soon. Many details in the gold smuggling case will surface then. Anyway, the first shot has been fired. Many more shots are there to be fired,” said Muralidharan.