KOCHI: The Kerala high court on Friday criticized the police for the long delay in probing the tall claims made by Monson Mavunkal despite then state police chief Loknath Behera IPS himself doubting the genuineness of antiques during his visit to Monson’s house in May 2019. The court also asked if the case has any interstate or internatinoal links.
In an affidavit, state police chief Anil Kant had said Behera and ADGP Manoj Abraham had developed suspicion on the genuineness of the articles and the antecedents of ‘Dr. Monson Mavunkal’ during their visit. After directing for a discreet intelligence enquiry in May 2019, the state police chief had requested the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for a detailed enquiry on February 5, 2020, the affidavit had said.
During the hearing on Friday, justice Devan Ramachandran asked why police failed to register a case against Monson if there were doubts as early as in May 2019. The truth of the matter has to come out, the court said.
The court also pointed out that the report of the intelligence probe ordered in May 2019 came out only after eight months. The court asked why such a long delay occurred in conducting an enquiry and said it is not satisfied with the police chief’s affidavit.
Further, the court ordered for producing the copies of the communication and orders issued to ascertain the genuineness of Monson and his artefacts, including the order for conducting an intelligence enquiry and the state police chief’s letter to the ED.
Referring to the police chief’s affidavit, the court said it is silent about the allegation that Monson had close links with an organization for expats and directed to inform whether anybody from outside the state is involved in the case. The court will consider the case again on November 11.
