Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said CPI veteran Pinarayi Vijayan and his son-in-law P A Mohamed Riyas had made contradictory remarks about a diary allegedly seized by the ED in the CMRL case.
Satheesan said that while one of them had questioned which diary was being referred to and what it contained, the other had said it contained details of future business plans involving Vijayan’s daughter T Veena.
“The allegations and offences mentioned in the letter given by the ED to the government are very serious.
The ED, in its communication, cited entries from a “red book” allegedly recovered during a search at a rented residence where Veena was staying and claimed that it contained evidence relating to financial transactions, according to media reports. “One asked which diary it was and what diary was being referred to, while the other said it contained details about future business,” Satheesan said at a press conference after chairing the weekly Cabinet meeting. Replying to a question on the issue, he said the government was examining the ED’s recommendation to register a case against Vijayan and others and stressed that the scrutiny was being carried out on legal, rather than political, grounds. We are primarily examining the legal aspects rather than the political aspects,” he said. He said a “very careful legal scrutiny” was under way and the government would arrive at an appropriate decision as soon as possible. The ED had recently written to the state police chief seeking registration of an FIR against Vijayan, Veena, Riyas and some others, citing evidence it said had been gathered during its money-laundering probe and searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
