Police top brass under CBI scanner

KOCHI: The statement given by DySP Santhosh Nair to the CBI in connection with the Unnithan murder attempt case is all set to ruffle the feathers of a few higher officials in the state police.   Sources in the CBI told Express that an official in the rank of a DIG had allegedly made attempts to safeguard Crime Branch DySP N Abdul Rasheed and mislead the investigation of the case. In his statement, Santhosh admitted that during his police custody he was taken to a guest house where higher officials quizzed him for almost a day. The officials told him that they had strong political contacts and could save him easily. They asked him to go for a compromise so that the case would be resolved easily and need not have to be transferred to the CBI. Santhosh alleged that he was fixed in the case by some officials, who are in the ranks of DIG and SP, the CBI sources said. Santhosh further admitted that the whole plot to assault Unnithan was hatched by DySP N Abdul Rasheed. Santhosh said that he and Rasheed were in good terms with Container Santhosh. Rasheed wanted to assault Unnithan after the December 31, 2010, incident in which Rasheed pulled the emergency chain of the Rajadhani Express. Though many newspapers  published reports about the chain pulling incident, only Unnithan named Rasheed in his report. Rasheed once told Santhosh Nair and Container Santhosh that Unnithan had become a nuisance and he had to be finished off soon. Santhosh Nair admitted that Rasheed assigned the job to Container Santhosh after assuring him that he would save him from the case as it will be handed over to the Crime Branch,” the CBI officials said. Santhosh Nair admitted that he was close to Container Santhosh and several times he, Rasheed and Container Santosh, along with their families, had toured several places. The CBI officials said that they would quiz the officials as the statement given by Santhosh Nair is crucial.“We will quiz higher officials as their role in the case has to be cleared. The notice for the interrogation of these people will be issued soon,” CBI official said.