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Anger as Joppan, Shalu released on bail

Tenny Joppan, a former personal staff member of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and actress Shalu Menon, accused in cheating cases related to the solar scam rocking the state, were on Saturday released from jail.

The two who were granted bail by Justice S.S. Satheesachandran of the state high court on Friday faced the ire of the people when they came out of the jail in the afternoon after executing the bonds and surrendering their passports as stipulated by the court.

The people who gathered outside the Pathanamthitta jail tried to manhandle Joppan, but his family members and the police managed to save him by pushing away the agitated people. Joppan was given additional security by the police on the direction of the court.

His lawyer had sought additional security fearing attack from Congress activists. The former personal aide of the chief minister was later taken to his home at Pathanapuram near Kottarakkara by his father with heavy police escort.

Shalu was jeered by the crowd when she was escorted out of the Attakkulangara jail by the police. She immediately left for her home at Changanacherry. She refused to talk to the media persons.

There was uncertainty about the release of the actress on Saturday as she is facing another case related to alleged threat to key accused Saritha S Nair, who is in jail since June 4. She got the nod for her release after the police clarified that they were yet to a register the case based on Saritha’s complaint.

Shalu Menon was arrested in July on a complaint by Rafique Ali, who claimed that she had accompanied scam accused Biju Radhakrishnan when he collected over Rs7 million from him. The police had also slapped a case against her for helping Biju to escape the state following the arrest of Saritha.

The scam pertains to financial cheating of large number of people by Biju and his live-in partner Saritha by offering clients solar energy solutions. The accused allegedly used their connections in the CM’s office for duping their clients of huge sums.

news@khaleejtimes.com