Representative image | Photo: Mathrubhumi
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala police on Wednesday said it has handed over to the Enforcement Directorate the information sought by the central agency in connection with the Kodakara highway hawala heist case.
The state police issued a statement in this regard hours after Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan alleged that the police were trying to settle the case related to allegations of hawala connections linked to certain BJP leaders of the state.
The Kerala police has handed over the information sought by the ED on June 1 and August 2, 2021, in connection with the seizure of hawala money in Kodakara in Thrissur district, it said.
Earlier in the day, Satheesan, referring to the Union government's reply in Parliament, had alleged that the Kerala police was not giving the documents related to the case to the probe agency.
The central government's reply confirms the opposition's allegation that Kerala's ruling CPI(M) compromised the Kodakara case with the BJP for a quid pro quo in the sensational gold smuggling case allegedly involving some top officials in the Left government, which was investigated by the central agencies, Satheesan alleged.
"Why is the Kerala police trying not to hand over information to the ED in the Kodakara case? The chief minister, who is also holding the home portfolio, should clarify this," he said.
The police said 23 people were arrested in connection with the highway heist case registered by Kodakara police. The case was probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Thrissur Range DIG.
An amount of Rs 1,58,48,801 was recovered in connection with the case.
The BJP, which has been facing charges of using "hawala" money in the Kerala Assembly polls last year, had accused the CPI(M)-led LDF government in the state of playing politics of revenge against it in connection with the heist.
According to a complaint filed by Shamjeer Samsudheen on April 7, a gang had stopped his car on the Kodakara flyover here and looted Rs 25 lakh kept in the vehicle when he was on his way to Kochi from Kozhikode.
Though the complaint had said only Rs 25 lakh was stolen, the investigators later found that the actual amount was much more than that and it was a "hawala" transaction. PTI
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