ED arrests Kerala Left leader’s son Bineesh Kodiyeri over Bengaluru drugs seizure

ED arrests Kerala Left leader’s son Bineesh Kodiyeri over Bengaluru drugs seizure

Shankar RajUpdated: Friday, October 30, 2020, 12:50 AM IST
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Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of CPI(M) Kerala state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan |

In what could be a big dent to the CPI(M)’s image in Kerala, the Enforcement Directorate arrested on Thursday Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of party secretary and strongman Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, in connection with the alleged funding of a suspect arrested earlier by for peddling drugs in Bengaluru.

A nervous Bineesh arrived at the Bengaluru Zonal office of the ED in Shanthinagar at 11 am for questioning. He was placed under arrest after three hours grilling. The Bengaluru Sessions Court remanded him in ED custody for four days.

The arrest of Bineesh follows the questioning of Mohammed Anoop, 38, who was arrested by the NCB on August 22 for allegedly supplying drugs at rave parties in Bengaluru.

Bineesh had maintained that he and Anoop were good friends, and that he had financially helped the latter to start a hotel a few years ago. Sources say that Bineesh and Anoop had other questionable transactions and were constantly in touch with each other. The ED might also study their phone calls, the sources said.

Sources said the NCB has found that the CPM leader’s son had given liberal funds to Anoop to help him start a hotel business in Bengaluru. The big question is whether Bineesh was aware of the drug dealings of Anoop and if he had funded him to further his business in the name of hotel funding.

Actor-turned-businessman Bineesh is not new to controversy. On September 9, the ED had questioned him in connection with the Kerala gold smuggling case. It had also booked him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and ordered freezing of his properties.

His elder brother Binoy too is a controversial character. In 2018, the Dubai police filed cases of cheating against Binoy after he allegedly failed to pay a tour operator Rs 1.74 crore. Last year, the Mumbai police booked him after a 33-year-old woman accused him of raping her on the pretext of marriage.

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