KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed the chargesheet in the Kodakara hawala case, naming 23 people as accused.
The chargesheet, submitted before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kochi, contradicts the Kerala Police, which had concluded that the money looted in the highway robbery was intended for the BJP’s campaign during the 2021 Kerala assembly elections.
None of the 23 accused named in the ED’s chargesheet have direct links to the BJP, effectively giving the party a clean chit in the case. The case revolves around allegations that hawala funds from Karnataka, purportedly meant for the BJP’s election campaign, were looted near the Kodakara flyover on April 3, 2021, three days before the state went to the polls.
Former BJP office secretary Thiroor Satheesh had previously claimed that illicit funds had been delivered to the party office, prompting the Kerala Police to conduct further investigation. The police’s chargesheet, filed before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Irinjalakuda in July 2021, stated that the looted money was indeed intended for the BJP’s campaign, citing multiple statements and gathered evidence.
According to the ED, Rs 3.5 crore, which Dharmaraj — the key figure in the case — entrusted to his driver Shamjeer for a property purchase in Alappuzha, was stolen at Kodakara flyover. Dharmaraj provided documents substantiating the source of the money.
In addition to the stolen amount identified by the police, the ED seized Rs 3 lakh in cash and assets worth Rs 8 lakh belonging to him. The agency emphasised that its probe was limited to money laundering transactions following the heist.
Despite Opposition allegations against former BJP state president K Surendran, neither the police nor the ED found evidence implicating him in the case so far.
The ED’s findings have reignited political debates in Kerala, with Opposition parties criticising the agency’s conclusions and reiterating demands for further scrutiny into the alleged involvement of BJP leaders in the case.