BY VK SHASHIKUMAR
The Kerala Police have asked their counterparts in Delhi to verify the antecedents and residential details of TG Nandakumar, a corporate lobbyist with alleged links to some members of the judiciary. The address he gave for his mobile connection in Delhi — 9810561283 — is a non-existent one, but is just one letter of the alphabet away from a real address in the high-security Lutyens zone where judges have stayed.
While submitting proof of residence for his mobile connection, Nandkumar apparently gave AB 9A, Purana Quilla Road, New Delhi 110001, as his residential address. AB 9A does not exist. But AB 9 does. How did Nandkumar get away by giving a misleading address? Among others, former J&K Governor Jagmohan and high court judges have lived here.
According to Mathews J Nedumpara of the National Lawyers’ Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms, Nandakumar is seen by legal circles in Kerala as someone who has access to several judges of the high courts and the Supreme Court.
In an earlier report in Firstpost, we had documented the clout and connections of Nandkumar, as alleged in Nedumpara’s various complaints to various constitutional authorities, including some sent to the president of India and the chief justice.
Authoritative Kerala police sources have confirmed that the concerned mobile service provider has already shared the necessary details on Nandkumar’s mobile number. The registration documents of Nandkumar’s phone number apparently show the AB 9A address indicated above as his. The billing address is different from the residential one.
Kerala Director General of Police Jacob Punnoose confirmed that he has requested the Delhi police commissioner to verify the location of the residence and telephone number, but he declined to give details.
“While investigating a complaint filed by Jomon Puthenpurackal against Nandakumar alleging that his signature was forged by the latter to level serious allegations against an advocate who was selected by the collegium of judges to become a high court judge in Kerala, the Crime Branch wing of Kerala police found that Nandakumar had taken a telephone connection after showing a particular residence.
“On preliminary verification, the Kerala Police suspects that the residence address seems to be misleading as the address is in a VIP area. I have forwarded the information to the police commissioner of Delhi for verification,” said Punnoose.
“It’s not fair on my part to comment on the case at this stage. We are closely monitoring the developments in the case. I can assure you that our team is doing their best in the investigation.”
It was during a raid conducted by the Kochi crime branch at Nandakumar’s residence that the police came across several pieces of information on the lobbyist, including the Delhi mobile number and the residence address that could be fake. The investigating officer alerted Vinson M Paul, Additional Director General of Police, Crime Branch, who, in turn, briefed the DGP.
According to Crime Branch sources, after receiving the report from the Delhi police, the Kerala Police will register a case of forgery and impersonation against Nandakumar, if warranted. Last Friday (11 November), the Kerala government ordered a vigilance probe on the transfer of the State Data Centre to Reliance group by former Left Democratic Front Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan.
This came on the heels of an investigative report in Firstpost which exposed the shenanigans of a “corporate broker” (Kerala’s political scrap may uncover India’s judicial “fixer”, 7 November 2011).
The Khaleej Times published from Dubai, which has a substantial readership of Malayalees in the Gulf, reported on 14 November that “there have been allegations that Nandakumar, who claimed he was a paid consultant of Reliance, had facilitated the (data centre) deal, which allowed the private company access to several vital data. Many felt that Reliance could use them to further their interests in the state…”.
(This article was first published on Firstpost on November 21, 2011)