Kerala money heist: Money was transported from Bengaluru for BJP, police tells court

The police report, accessed by TNM, was submitted in response to a plea by RSS functionary AK Dharmarajan who said that the money belongs to him.
Representative image of bundles of cash in the backdrop of BJP symbol
Representative image of bundles of cash in the backdrop of BJP symbol
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On June 15 (Tuesday), the investigation team probing the Kodakara highway money heist case told the trial court in Kerala’s Thrissur that the confiscated amount of nearly Rs 3.5 crore is ‘hawala money’. It also said that the money was being transported for the BJP in Kerala from Karnataka, ahead of the Assembly elections in Kerala on April 6. The report filed at the Irinjalakuda Judicial First Class Magistrate Court is on par with the allegations that had earlier surfaced. The police report was submitted in response to a plea by AK Dharmarajan, an RRS functionary, who said that the money belongs to him.

The investigation pertains to a highway robbery that occurred on April 3 in Thrissur’s Kodakara. The driver of the vehicle that was waylaid, Shamjeer, initially told the police that the stolen money amounted to Rs 25 lakh. However, police investigations later revealed the amount to be Rs 3.5 crore, which was allegedly meant for the BJP. In its report submitted to the court, which TNM accessed, the police confirmed that the confiscated amount was ‘hawala’ money from Bengaluru.

According to the police report, Dharmarajan is allegedly someone “who on a commission basis transports illegal money” for people. As per the report, Dharmarajan told the police, “Rs 3.5 crore was transported from Bengaluru to Kozhikode through hawala means, as per the direction of BJP’s Kerala officer secretary Gireeshan Nair and state organising secretary Ganesh.'' The money was allegedly meant to be given to BJP’s Alappuzha district treasurer Gopalakrishna Kartha.

The police have also said that from March 5 to April 5, Dharmarajan and his brother had illegally transported money to various BJP leaders in Kerala, ahead of the Assembly election on April 6. “Therefore, Rs 3.5 crore, which was robbed, does not belong to Dharmarajan. The source of the money is being probed,” police stated in its report.

So far, 20 persons have been arrested for the robbery case, charged under Indian Penal Code sections 395 (punishment for dacoity), 412 (dishonestly receiving property stolen in the commission of a dacoity), 212 (harbouring an offender) and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy). However, no hawala cases have been registered yet, as per the report.

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