Divine Retreat Centre:SIT told to probe all aspects.

KOZHIKODE: The State Government has directed the special investigating team to probe, in the manner ordered by the High Court, all the activities of the Divine Retreat Center at Thrissur.

Justice K Padmanabhan Nair had asked the government to constitute a special team to probe the activities of the Retreat Center. He had ordered that the team should inquire into the allegations of “mysterious deaths”, foreign exchange rule violations, rape of a woman and the connection some IAS and IPS officers had with the center.

The team was also asked to invoke the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, if necessary. The government constituted a special team led by IG Vinson M Paul, who is now the managing director of the Kerala Police Housing and Construction Society, as directed by the High Court.

But the Home Department had issued an order asking the special team to investigate into the allegation of rape. The order was silent about the other issues raised by the court. This has raised the suspicion that the government was trying to circumvent the court order.

When the issue came up before the High Court on June 14, it asked the government to issue a fresh order directing the special team to inquire into all the aspects concerning the center, as directed by it earlier. The government was asked to issue the order and report to the court on June 19.

Consequently, the Home Department issued a fresh order on Friday. The entire issue was brought to light when a woman submitted a petition to the District Judge here alleging that a person at the Divine Retreat Centre raped her while she was staying there.