The Crime Branch of the Kerala police on August 9, Monday, raided the residence of tribal leader CK Janu at Panavally in Wayanad in connection with the allegations that BJP state president K Surendran had paid her Rs 10 lakh for her support to the National Democratic Alliance. Janu is also the founder of a political outfit named Janadhipathya Rashtriya Party which contested the Kerala Assembly elections in April as an ally of the NDA.
In June Praseetha Azhikode, state treasurer of the JRP, had alleged that Surendran gave Rs 10 lakh to Janu to return to the NDA fold. JRP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections had been part of the CPI(M) led Left Democratic Front. She returned to the NDA in March 2021 after a gap of two years. Janu contested the Assembly elections from Sulthan Bathery and lost by a huge margin.
Crime Branch Deputy Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar told the Hindu that they seized three mobile phones and bank details from the house. Praseetha had released an audio conversation that she purportedly had with Surendran days before Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit in which they discussed paying Rs 10 lakh to Janu.
Amit Shah addressed the conclusion of BJP's pre-poll campaign Vijya Yatra in Thiruvananthapuram, where Janu was welcomed back into the coalition.
The Sulthan Bathery police in Wayanad had registered a case against Surendran and Janu following an order of the First Class Judicial Magistrate in Sulthan Bathery. This was based on a complaint which alleged that Surendran had paid Janu bribe to contest as NDA candidate. The court in June granted permission to register a First Information Report against Surendran for allegedly offering money to Janu.