Kochi, Sep 14 (IANS): After being questioned for over eight hours on Monday, CPI(M) legislator and former Minister A.C. Moideen has been asked to appear again before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on September 19, in the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank loan scam.

Moideen appeared before the ED on Monday after being served three notices in the past weeks. However, he failed to turn up on two occasions.

The ED has been in hot pursuit in this case for a while now and has arrested two persons P. Satheesh Kumar and P. Kiran, so far in the case besides questioning a few others -- most of them either employees of the bank or top local CPI-M leaders in the district.

The CPI-M leadership is closely watching the way things are turning in this case, as another top leader -- two-time former Lok Sabha MP, P.K. Biju’s name is in the air that he might be asked to appear before the ED.

Moideen was first asked to appear before the ED following a raid at his Trissur residence last month.

The ED claimed that Rs 150 crore was siphoned off from Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank Ltd in Trissur.

The ED investigation has revealed that on the instruction of certain persons, who were district level leaders and committee members of a "certain" political party, and held top positions, loans were disbursed by the Bank Manager through the agent in cash to "non-member benamis" by mortgaging properties of not so well-off individuals without their knowledge.

It has come to light that many 'benami loans' were disbursed on the instructions of Moideen.

The next week for the CPI-M appears to be crucial as Moideen is appearing again.

The Trissur unit of the party, the other day held a protest meeting against the manner in which the central agencies are haunting the CPI-M and that protests raised eyebrows when numerous people who deposited their life savings in the bank, continue to languish waiting for their deposits to be withdrawn.