KOCHI: The crime branch team which is probing the cheating case involving conman Monson Mavunkal has arraigned Youth Congress leader Ebin Abraham as an accused. The investigation team also issued a notice to Ebin to appear before it for interrogation on August 8.
Recently, the crime branch filed a report at the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court arraigning Ebin as the sixth accused in the cheating case. Crime branch officials said Ebin was made an accused after they got primary evidence that he received money from Monson. “Based on the evidence collected as part of the probe, we have issued a notice to Ebin to appear for questioning. The interrogation will be held at the crime branch office in Kalamassery,” a crime branch official said.
Officials said that an investigation into the financial transactions of Monson revealed that Ebin received money on several occasions. According to them, as Monson did not maintain any bank account, some of the transactions made to Ebin were through the accounts of his close aides and employees. The crime branch has also collected witness statements about Monson’s links with Ebin.
There were reports that Ebin was close to Congress state president K Sudhakaran, who is a co-accused in the case. A crime branch official said that they are probing whether Ebin acted as a link between Sudhakaran and Monson. Earlier, Sudhakaran was arrested by the crime branch in the case. But he was released as he had obtained anticipatory bail from Kerala High Court.
Monson allegedly swindled Rs 10 crore from six businessmen claiming that his funds were blocked due to legal issues. Inspector G Lakshman and retired DIG S Surendran are also co-accused in the case.
CB issues fresh notice to IG
The crime branch on Wednesday issued a fresh notice to IG G Lakshman to appear for interrogation on August 11. The notice was issued after he failed to appear before the investigation team for questioning on July 31. The interrogation of the IPS officer is crucial as Monson maintained a close relationship with him. Earlier, he did not turn up for interrogation citing health issues