Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of former Kerala CPI(M) Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, has been denied bail by the city civil and sessions court in Bengaluru on Monday. This is the fourth time that his bail plea has been rejected since his arrest in October 2020. The Enforcement Directorate arrested Bineesh for his alleged links to the drug peddling case in October 2020. Bineesh had been quizzed by the ED in September in connection with the case.
While the Narcotics Control Bureau unearthed the drug peddling case, the ED is probing money laundering related to it.
The defense counsel while submitting the bail plea contended that Bineesh is a father of minor children who were psychologically affected by the development. It also submitted that he is the only source of livelihood for his family, reports the Hindu.
The ED, however, objected to the plea stating that he is very influential and could hamper investigation if given bail. It also objected to the plea as the case was still under investigation and granting him bail will influence the witness.
The name of Bineesh Kodiyeri surfaced in the Bengaluru drug case when Anoop Muhammed, a Kochi native was arrested and questioned by the Narcotics Control Bureau. Anoop is the main accused in the drug case. Bineesh had maintained that he and Anoop were friends and he financially helped the latter to start a hotel a few years ago.
In November last year, ED officials in Bengaluru confirmed that they were vetting five companies where Bineesh Kodyeri was Director. According to the officials, they suspected that Bineesh and Anoop were allegedly funnelling money from the drug trade into these five companies.
ED vets 5 companies where Bineesh Kodiyeri was Director, probe funding
The chargesheet mentioned that two of the witnesses have allegedly admitted to consuming cocaine with Bineesh in Bengaluru. The chargesheet also alleged that illegal drugs purchased by Anoop were financed by Bineesh and that he also financially benefited from the proceeds of drug peddling.
The ED also stated in the chargesheet that Bineesh took a loan mortgaging his mother-in-law's immovable properties from the Punjab National Bank. Bineesh’s claim is that with this money he gave a loan to Muhammed Anoop of Rs 33-40 lakhs without interest to run a hotel called Hayaat in Bengaluru. According to ED, the hotel was a front for the drug related activity and money was brought in the pretext of funding the hotel. but was instead used in the drug business.
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