THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of the statements of Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in the Lok Sabha that the Enforcement Directorate that is probing the Kodakara hawala case had called for details from Kerala Police on multiple occasions and they are still awaiting a reply, the state police have come out with a response.
The police headquarters said the department had twice handed over details that were sought by the ED in the case. To set the records straight, the headquarters in a statement said the details were shared with the Central agency on June 1 and August 2 last year. A special team led by Thrissur Range DIG took up the case on May 10, 2021.
The chargesheet was filed against 22 accused on July 22, 2021. After one more person was arrested, the police team filed an additional chargesheet on November 15, 2022, the police headquarters said, adding that Rs 1.58 crore was recovered during the investigation.
The Kodakara hawala heist took place on April 3 last year. A car that was ferrying hawala cash was waylaid by a gang near Kodakara in Thrissur district. The subsequent probe by the Kodakara police revealed that `3.5 crore was robbed from the vehicle.
It was alleged that the huge amount was being brought in for the BJP state leadership for the assembly poll campaign. The police had arraigned 22 people as accused in the case, while several BJP leaders including state chief K Surendran, were added as witnesses. CM Pinarayi Vijayan had told the state assembly that Surendran had knowledge of the movement of hawala money.
The reluctance to book him as an accused had raised a few eyebrows.Congress and UDF leaders had alleged that the state government was shielding the BJP leaders as a quid pro quo for settling the gold smuggling case probed by Central agencies. Responding to the matter, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan on Wednesday urged the CM to come out with a clarification as to why the details of the case were not handed over to the ED.
GOVT SHIELDING BJP LEADERS: CONG
Congress and UDF leaders had alleged that the state government was shielding the BJP leaders as a quid pro quo for settling the gold smuggling case probed by Central agencies. Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan on Wednesday urged the CM to come out with a clarification as to why the details of the case were not handed over to the ED.