THRISSUR: The new revelations made by Tirur Satheesh, former office secretary of BJP in Thrissur, related to the Kodakara hawala case have put the party in a spot ahead of the byelections in the state. Satheesh has alleged that the hawala money which was looted by a gang at Kodakara was meant for BJP's election campaign.
The Kodakara heist occurred on April 3, 2021, when a car carrying hawala money was intercepted by assailants in another vehicle on NH 544 in Kodakara, Thrissur district. They stole the money from the car. Initially, the police received a complaint about a robbery of Rs 25 lakh, but further investigation revealed that Rs 3.5 crore in hawala funds had actually been taken. The money was being transported by a person named Dharmarajan, who was alleged to be an RSS worker.
Satheesh alleged that he met Dharmarajan at the BJP district office earlier and had booked hotel rooms for him and his associates to stay in Thrissur as directed by the BJP treasurer. They left the hotel on April 3 morning.
He claimed that Dharmarajan brought the hawala money to the BJP district office on April 2, while the robbery happened when the remaining funds were being transported to Alappuzha.
The former office secretary of the BJP alleged that Dharmarajan brought the hawala money to the BJP district office and the robbery happened when the rest of the money was being carried to Alappuzha.
Meanwhile, BJP Thrissur district president K K Aneeshkumar refuted the fresh allegations. "Satheesh was expelled from the party for financial irregularities. CPM has bribed him and turned him against BJP ahead of the byelections. Whenever an election happens in Kerala, the Kodakara hawala case is dug out to portray the BJP in a bad light. Satheesh's allegations are baseless," he said.
The police had arrested 22 accused in the highway heist case while the hawala seizure case was forwarded to the Enforcement Directorate. Though the ED sought a report on the case from Kerala Police, the investigation didn't proceed further.
KPCC working president T N Prathapan on Thursday urged the state government to re-investigate the case. "The slow pace of probe into Kodakara hawala case itself is evident of a deal between CPM and BJP. It is suspicious why BJP leaders were not named accused in the case. Why is the ED not taking the hawala seizure case forward?" he asked.
CPM state secretary M V Govindan also sought a detailed probe into the case. "Why is the ED not probing the case. The source of the fund, and for whom it was brought should be probed," he said. CPI leader V S Sunilkumar also sought a reinvestigation into the case to uncover the real culprits behind the hawala transaction.