Audio clip: CPI-M leader tried to buy victim’s silence

Thiruvananthapuram, July 25 (IANS) An audio clip surfaced on Thursday in which Kerala CPI-M leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan's son Binoy Kodiyeri is heard trying to pay money to a woman who has filed a criminal case against him.

Binoy Kodiyeri was all along claiming that the woman was trying to blackmail him and that he had done no wrong.

A 33-year-old Mumbai-based woman had filed an FIR last month alleging that Binoy Kodiyeri had sexually exploited her for several years on the promise of marriage and they also had an eight-year-old child.

In the audio clip aired by News Television, which is in Hindi, he is heard asking the woman not to do anything in a hurry and that things will be "settled" according to her wishes.

He says that when the issue is "settled", she should remove the word "Kodiyeri" from her name from all the records including passport and bank accounts.

The woman says she does not want any money but he should ensure that he provides "appropriate money" for his son. The audio ends when he says he will take care of all her demands.

This conversation took place in January this year after the woman served a legal notice on him in December. After getting no response, she filed a complaint with the police in Mumbai.

After being on the run for some time, Binoy Kodiyeri this month got bail on the condition that he should undergo a DNA test while cooperating with the police investigation.

But on three occasions, he failed to undergo a DNA test. This week he approached the Bombay High Court seeking to quash the FIR.

According to the complaint, the woman entered into a relationship with him while working at a dance bar in Dubai in 2008 and till 2015 he used to send her money every month.

She filed the FIR after coming to know that Binoy Kodiyeri was already married.