Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in Thoothukudi on Saturday, the minister ruled out speculations that he’s in relationship with Srithar, whom he said was a native of Kerala and from a different community.

The minister said that while the Opposition parties are hellbent on politicising the deaths of two traders, who belonged to Sathankulam, the CB-CID Inspector General K Shankar has clarified that the probe is being conducted in a free and fair manner and there’s no political interference.

Meanwhile, the CB-CID has registered a case against a news website for publishing ‘morphed’ photos with serious cut injuries and falsely claiming it to be that of the victims — Jeyaraj and Bennix. “The photos published on the website, when compared with the post-mortem report and the injuries, do not tally at all. The photos have been morphed and published to create social unrest,” said a release from CB-CID.

A separate case has been registered in this regard and summons have been served to the editor of the site. CB-CID stated that such developments would hamper the investigation of the case and warned people not to publish or circulate them to avoid legal action.