On Monday, November 2, a special court in Bengaluru extended the custody of Bineesh Kodiyeri in a money laundering case to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for five more days. He is the son of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s Kerala secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
The ED had produced Bineesh before the special court dealing with the money laundering cases as the four-day custody came to an end on Monday. The investigation agency sought five more days of custody stating that the accused did not cooperate with the probe, which the court granted.
The ED arrested Bineesh on October 29 in a money laundering case linked to a drug seizure in Karnataka and took him into its custody for four days to interrogate him.
On Sunday night, he reportedly complained of back pain following which he was taken to the Bowring Hospital for check-up. On Monday morning, the ED took him from the hospital and produced him before the court.
Bineesh's lawyers challenged the ED's plea stating that he was in bad shape due to severe back pain. They also stated that he vomited several times in the hospital. The lawyers alleged that the ED was violating norms by not allowing them to meet Bineesh at least for an hour every day. However, the court turned down their plea.
The central agency alleged that the "drug peddler" in the case, Mohammed Anoop, was a "benamidar" of Bineesh.
The ED probe stems from a Narcotics Control Bureau investigation that claimed to have busted an ecstasy pill drug trafficking racket in Karnataka in August along with the arrest of Anoop and two others.
Bineesh has maintained that he knew Anoop and his family and the latter had borrowed money from him and some others for setting up a restaurant business in Bengaluru a few years ago.
(With PTI input)