KOZHIKODE: Affability and mysterious ways are two major traits which define Bineesh Kodiyeri, who has been arrested in connection with the Bengaluru drug cartel investigation.
He has always been a jovial guy, though short tempered, with a vast network of friends. Even during his father Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s tenure as home minister, Bineesh didn’t confine himself to the high circles nor display any haughtiness.
However, he allegedly has a mysterious side to his character -- dabbling in numerous shady real estate and other deals, often peddling the clout of his father.
“Thalassery knows Bineesh as a jovial youth who is also cricket crazy. He used to freely interact with persons regardless of their social status. He used to roam around with his friends. Short-tempered and flamboyant, he was flaunted his father’s clout, which is unbecoming of the son of a Communist leader,” said a former batchmate of Bineesh from his days at St Joseph’s HSS, Thalassery.
Over the years, his friends circle also included those from the film and business fields. Despite being the son of a prominent CPM leader, Bineesh was never a member of either the CPM or the DYFI.
He was, however, a member of the SFI during his undergraduate student days in Thiruvananthapuram.
Like a true Thalassery youth, Bineesh was obsessed with cricket. He played as a medium pacer and batsman for Brothers Cricket Club in Thalassery before going on to own two cricket clubs — BK-55 Cricket club and BK Academy. “Bineesh bought Phoenix Cricket Club in Thalassery and rechristened it BK-55, 55 being the last two digits of his car’s registration number.
Later, he added Friends Cricket Club at Kannadiparambil in Kannur to his kitty and renamed it as BK Academy. Both the clubs feature in the district league,” said a former office-bearer of Cannanore District Cricket Association (CDCA).Bineesh is the CDCA nominee to the Kerala Cricket Association. A source said the CDCA secretary had stepped aside as nominee to make way for him. Bineesh has also launched a shirt brand in his name — BK-55 — in Thalassery.
Land deal connection
Bineesh’s name popped up in connection with many shady land deals — from Kannur and Wayanad to Thrissur. The names associated with him in such murky deals were those of Kirmani Manoj and K K Muhammad Shafi, who had been convicted in the T P Chandrasekharan murder case. Bineesh along with A N Shamsheer, MLA, had attended Shafi’s wedding while the convict was out on parole in 2017.
Kanam backs Kodiyeri
T’Puram: CPI has backed CPM in the Bineesh issue. There’s no link between the Left government or the probe against Bineesh, CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran told reporters here. He reiterated CPI’s earlier allegation that Central agencies are being used as political weapon against the Left. “It’s not a drug case, it’s a money laundering case. Let law take its own course. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan himself has made this clear,” he said.