KOCHI/KOZHIKODE: After booking IUML leader and former PWD Minister VK Ebrahim Kunju in the Palarivattom flyover corruption case, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Tuesday conducted raids at the main office of Chandrika daily, the official mouthpiece of IUML, in Kozhikode.
VACB officials said the raids were conducted to unearth evidence in connection with certain inputs that the bank account of the daily was allegedly used to transfer unaccounted money which the VACB suspects to be part of a kickback received by Kunju in connection with the construction of the flyover.
“We suspect that the daily’s bank account was used for transferring the unaccounted money. The transfer of `10 crore took place at a bank in Kochi where the daily has an account,” said the VACB officers.
Already the Enforcement Directorate is also probing the alleged fund transfer from the daily’s account after a petition was filed before the Kerala High Court by a person against Kunju alleging illegal money transactions involving crores of rupees during the time of demonetisation.
Petitioner G Girish Babu of Kalamassery alleged that `10 crore was deposited by Sameer, a member of the director board of Chandrika daily, into the daily’s account at the Market Road branch of Punjab National Bank on November 15, 2016.
He alleged that the source of the money had not been disclosed and they were benami transactions on behalf of the IUML leader.