Trouble looms for Kerala CM Vijayan, daughter as ED gets SFIO charge sheet

Kochi, April 15 (IANS) With the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday receiving a copy of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) charge sheet filed at an economic offences court here, heartbeats have increased for Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his daughter Veena Vijayan, as her name appears in it as an accused.

The SFIO had, last week, filed its charge sheet that pertains to the illegal deal between Veena Vijayan’s now defunct IT firm Exalogic and Kochi-based Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) after finding that her IT firm had allegedly received a monthly gratification of around Rs 2.70 crore from the CMRL for mining sanctions.

After the perusal of the charge sheet, the court has begun steps to issue summons to all the parties in this corruption case.

Incidentally the ED also had started a preliminary probe into this case and in the past, both the Karnataka and Kerala High Courts had rejected petitions filed by Veena and state run KSIDC who have a stake in CMRL.

Veena Vijayan and those who have been arraigned as accused in the charge sheet are planning to go to a higher court to effect a stay on the SFIO proceedings, but for that, they need to get the summons, and this is becoming a concern.

With the Kochi economic offences court now registering a case and the SFIO having limitations in probing cases under the Public Money Laundering Act, it is the ED which handles such cases, and it could be touch and go for Veena Vijayan as it also has the power to arrest people involved in such cases.

Both Vijayan and the CPI-M have made it clear that they will fight the case legally and politically.

Vijayan was annoyed with the media for raising this issue and blamed the media for going after his blood by demanding his resignation.

--IANS

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