With the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) all set to interrogate Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader A.C. Moideen, MLA, on Monday in the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank fraud case, the party will have a difficult time, both inside the Assembly and outside defending its leaders who are under the shadow of suspicion.
The coming weeks may prove politically significant for the party, which had suffered a heavy setback in the Puthuppally bypoll, as it faces the prospects of more of its top leaders being summoned for questioning in the nearly ₹350-crore financial fraud. The ED dropped enough hints about the involvement of more party leaders in the scam in the court last week while seeking the extended custody of two of the alleged close aides of Mr. Moideen who were arrested earlier.
The agency had stated in the remand report that Satheesh Kumar P., who was arrested two weeks ago, was an illegal money-lender and the benami of high-profile politicians, including a Member of the Legislative Assembly, a former MP, and a few high-ranking police officers. The agency informed the court that Mr. Satheesh Kumar was managing the funds of these influential persons.
The ED may also summon the former MP, whom it suspects to be a beneficiary of the financial fraud, for interrogation shortly following the statements of some of the persons arrested earlier in the case.
Leaders questioned
P.R. Aravindakshan, CPI(M) councillor and Health standing committee chairman of the Wadakkanchery municipality, and Anoop Davis Cada, CPI(M) councillor in the Thrissur city Corporation, were also questioned by the ED recently. The remand report also mentions the alleged involvement of Madhu, a CPI(M) councillor, in the deals.
The developments in the case are sure to reverberate in the Assembly that will resume the session on Monday. The Opposition, buoyed by the win in Puthuppally, would use the developments to corner both the government and the party.
