Saseendran sting: Mangalam TV CEO sent to police custody

A court in Thiruvananthapuram on 7 April remanded Mangalam TV CEO Ajith Kumar and chief reporter Jayachandran to three-day police custody on charges of airing a purported audio tape of alleged sexual harassment, which led to the resignation of Kerala Transport Minister A. K. Saseendran.

A Malayalam regional channel Mangalam had on March 26 aired an audio tape of the conservation between Saseendran and a woman who approached him to submit a petition.

In the tape, the minister allegedly speaks with sexual intention to the lady.

However, Saseendran refuted the content of audio tape.

"I am resigning on moral grounds. I am making it clear that all allegations charged on me are absolutely baseless. But I am now tendering resignation as it is not right on my path to continue in this position when an investigation is underway," he said .

"It is up to the Chief Minister and government to investigate the matter and they can investigate with any agency. Also I don't want the government to be on the back foot," he added.

Earlier, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said that a judicial inquiry would be conducted on the allegations against Saseendran.

"The weekly Cabinet will decide the terms of reference," he added.

-ANI