PTI
Thiruvananthapuram
The Keralam government on Tuesday ordered a police inquiry based on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) report into an alleged money laundering matter involving former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family, drawing fierce criticism from the CPI(M), which accused the UDF of aligning with the BJP-led Centre to target political rivals.
State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala announced that an inquiry based on an ED report against Vijayan, his daughter Veena T, who is currently facing an ED probe into the CMRL bribe case, her husband P A Mohamed Riyas and others had been entrusted to the Director General of Police.
Sources said the inquiry would be conducted by the Crime Branch wing of the state police without registering an FIR.
The decision came after the government examined the legal opinion of the Advocate General.
, who had left it to the state police to decide the further course of action on the ED report.
Earlier, the ED, probing the CMRL bribe case, had sent a letter to state police Chief Ravada A Chandrasekhar seeking registration of an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Vijayan, Veena and Riyas, based on “evidence” allegedly gathered during its probe and searches conducted at the former CM’s rented residence here under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The central agency has claimed that it has statements from some accused alleging that the 81-year-old Leader of Opposition received a bribe from CMRL during his tenure as chief minister through his daughter, and that Riyas subsequently transferred the funds to Dubai.
The ED has named a total of 13 entities as accused, including Vijayan’s family members, Veena’s now-defunct IT company Exalogic Solutions, CMRL promoter S M Sasidharan Kartha, former CMRL CFO P Suresh Kumar, a company named Empower India Capital Investments, and some other individuals and unknown others.
Speaking to reporters here, Chennithala said he discussed the matter with Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Tuesday, and a decision was taken to order an inquiry.
He said the legal opinion was based on two Supreme Court judgments dealing with the obligation of law enforcement agencies to act on information received and the circumstances in which a preliminary inquiry could be conducted before registration of an FIR.
