PALAKKAD: With each passing day, the robbery of hawala money by members of a quotation gang at Kodakara is turning more intricate than a fast-paced whodunit, with allegations flying thick and fast. The money was being transported from Kozhikode to Ernakulam. The LDF and the UDF allege that the BJP was behind it and that the money was to be used to influence voters in the assembly election. However, BJP has denied any role in the hawala money issue, with party state president K Surendran stating that the party only transfers funds digitally.
The incident came to light when the driver filed a complaint with the police that a gang waylaid him at Kodakara and looted his car and Rs 25 lakh he was carrying. The police later found that the complainant was the driver of one Dharmarajan from Kozhikode and that he was transporting money to Ernaam. While the initial complaint was of the theft of Rs 25 lakh, there are allegations that the car was actually carrying cash worth crores of rupees.
So far, police have arrested nine persons in the case, said Thrissur Rural SP G Punkuzhali. They are on the lookout for another five people — Ali, Sujeesh, Ranjith, Rasheed and Edwin — who were part of the gang that looted the money. “The arrested members of the quotation gang were produced in court and remanded. But we can verify whether the cash seized was hawala money or not only after interrogating them,” she said.
The police have recovered Rs 23 lakh in cash and three sovereigns of gold from the house of the ninth accused Babu. An iPhone and Rs 30,000 in cash were also recovered from the sixth accused Shukoor. She said Dharmarajan told police that he was an RSS worker, but the police are yet to corroborate it. Officials are also looking into the claim that Sunil Naik, former state treasurer of the Yuva Morcha, gave Dharmarajan the money. Naik has told police that he only had a business relationship with the Dharmarajan.
“The amount recovered from Babu’s house has been handed over to the court. Only after investigations will we be able to prove if the amount was robbed from the vehicle at Kodakara. We will check whether the accused had entered into any property deals before they were arrested,” Punkuzhali said.
The police have asked the complainants and the accused to bring pieces of evidence for the money seized.