Kerala police open to CBI probe into Muthoot murder

KOCHI - The Kerala police, probing the murder of Muthoot House scion Paul M. George, told the state high court Monday that they have no objection to an external agency taking up the investigations.

The state police filed an affidavit before the Kerala High Court, following a petition of M.G. George Muthoot, the father of Paul George, for the Central Bureau of Investigation to take up the probe.

The state police affidavit was filed by investigating officer A.V. George.

Paul M. George, 32, was murdered near Alappuzha in August last year while travelling in a car with Om Prakash and Rajesh, two men who face several criminal cases in the state.

George Muthoot, seeking a CBI probe in October, had in his petition questioned the manner of probe by the Kerala police and claimed the investigations were based on a pre-written script of the police.

In his petition, the father said that police used the TV media to propagate false theories about the murder that were meant to help the real culprits to escape.

The detailed affidavit filed Monday points out that Paul George had close links with both Om Prakash and Rajesh and it was he who had flown them from Pune to Kochi days ahead of his death.

The affidavit states that two Iranian women had come down from Pune to meet Paul George and they first stayed at his flat near here and then all of them stayed for a week at a resort in Munnar.

From there they went to Alappuzha, and stayed in a houseboat.

The police have also recovered a laptop of Paul George, which contains pictures of all of them. The division bench hearing the plea for a CBI probe saw the pictures.

The court will continue to hear the arguments Tuesday before it decides if it is necessary to go ahead with a CBI probe.

A week after the murder, the police arrested 19 people, including Prakash and Rajesh. The mother of K. Satish, who was first accused, had earlier approached the court for a CBI probe.

The court had turned it down, saying that the investigation was on and she can come back with the demand at a later date.

Satish’s mother had pleaded that her son was framed in the case, and alleged that the recovery of a knife that police claim was used to kill Paul George from Satish’s home was stage-managed.

The opposition in the state has for long been demanding a CBI probe.