The Kerala High Court on Thursday issued notices to the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and the Income Tax Department (IT) regarding the Kodakara hawala case.
A single bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas has directed both agencies to file a report on the progress of their investigation within three weeks.
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This directive follows a plea by Santhosh, the 50th witness in the Kodakara money heist case, requesting an expedited probe. The petition also claimed that the Central agencies had not taken sufficient action on the case.
In addition, the High Court has sought explanations from the Central Election Commission and the Kerala State Police Chief.
The Kodakara heist occurred on April 3, 2021, when assailants intercepted a car transporting hawala money on NH 544 in Kodakara, Thrissur district, and stole the cash.
Initial complaints to the police reported a robbery of Rs 25 lakh, but subsequent investigation revealed that Rs 3.5 crore in hawala funds was involved. The money was being transported by Dharmarajan, who was reportedly associated with the RSS.
Earlier this month, the Kerala government decided to reopen the 2021 Kodakara hawala case after new revelations by Tirur Satheesh, a former BJP office secretary in Thrissur. Satheesh alleged that the seized money was hawala cash intended for BJP operations, sparking a political controversy in Kerala.
Satheesh further claimed that he had met Dharmarajan at the BJP district office and arranged hotel accommodations for him and his associates in Thrissur, as instructed by the BJP treasurer.
According to Satheesh, Dharmarajan brought the hawala funds to the BJP district office on April 2, 2021, and the robbery took place as the remaining funds were being transported to Alappuzha the following day.
