Daijiworld Media Network - Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthpuram, Jun 4: After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s lone seat in Kerala saw a humiliating defeat in the assembly elections, has now found itself embroiled in a controversy for its alleged links with a purported highway heist of more than Rs 3 crore in Thrissur district in April.
A purported audio tape of party state president K Surendran surfaced, in which he is heard reportedly talking to tribal leader and candidate from Wayanad constituency C K Janu, promising her Rs 10 lakh. The authenticity of the audio tape is yet to be verified.
An office-bearer of Jana's former party Janadhipathya Rashtriya Sabha has claimed that she had sought Rs 10 crore from the saffron party to remain in the National Democratic Alliance and that the Rs 10 lakh was an advance amount, however, the duo claimed that the money was part of the poll campaign expenses.
“We are ready for any probe. The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) is playing dirty politics to link the BJP with a money-snatching incident. Like CPI(M) leaders, we won’t get admitted to hospitals to avert questioning,” Surendran told reporters in Kozhikode on Thursday, adding that he was ready to appear before agencies for a probe. Investigations are underway, and probe is being conducted to confirm the allegations.
A man named S Shamseer alleged that he was transporting Rs 25 lakh cash when he was reportedly waylaid by a group of people and looted after being assaulted. Four days after the incident (April 7), he filed a police complaint in which he alleged that the money was meant for a property transaction. Shamseer later named a local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader, Dharmajan, who claimed that the money was collected from several people and was meant for election activities. While the police noted several inconsistencies in Shamseer’s version of events, after making 20 arrests, it found that the recoveries were more than Rs 25 lakh. As per latest information, the amount involved was supposedly Rs 3.5 crore and police have recovered Rs 1.25 crore so far.
During the probe, Dharmajan reportedly told police that the money was meant to be handed over to BJP Alappuzha treasurer K G Kartha and that party state organising secretary M Ganeshan was aware of the transportation. However, the case took a turn when one of the main accused P Deepak was found at the BJP district office in Thrissur after the incident, police said. BJP leaders, however, claimed that Deepak visited the office as part of an internal probe being carried out by the party. The entire incident led the police to suspect the role of some party insiders who were aware of the transportation of cash in the heist.
However, investigating officer deputy superintendent of police V K Raju refused to comment on the case, saying an investigation was underway.
CPI(M) acting secretary A Vijayaraghavan alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is hesitant to probe the case since it involved the BJP. The central agency is already probing the Kerala gold smuggling case which was a huge point of contention between the state and Union governments in the run up to the elections. “We have seen the ED taking up even minor cases in the state. But the central agency is keeping silent now. It exposes the central agency’s partisan attitude,” he said.
Meanwhile, an existing internal feud in the party over the elevation of Surendran as the Kerala unit president in February intensified after party OBC Morcha leader Rishi Palppu questioned the leaders over the source of money and heist. He was later expelled from the party. Reports suggest that the party central leadership is also upset with the recent developments in the state unit.