Bengaluru: Bineesh Kodiyeri, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a case related to drug money trail, was admitted to a hospital in the Karnataka capital on Sunday after he reportedly complained of back pain.
Bineesh was arrested under the anti-money laundering law on October 29 following which a city court sent him to the agency's custody till November 2.
The questioning of Bineesh, son of CPM Kerala secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, by ED officials entered the fourth day on Sunday. Earlier in the day, an ED official had allegedly caught Bineesh by the collar while he being brought to the directorate's office, leading to an altercation between the two.
Bineesh seemed unwell since morning and later complained about severe back pain. He was first taken to Victoria hospital and Benoy Kodiyeri, his brother, reached there soon after. Bineesh is said to have been shifted to another hospital since Victoria Hospital is a major COVID care centre.
The ED is conducting investigations into two firms owned by Bineesh - B Capital Forex and B Capital Services - after officials found that the companies, had not carried out any normal transactions.
NCB questions Bineesh
Meanwhile, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has questioned Bineesh Kodiyeri to obtain more information on the drug racket case involving Anoop Mohammad, a resident of Vennala in Kochi.
A three member NCB team comprising Bengaluru unit director Amit Ghawate questioned Bineesh at the Shanthinagar Zonal Office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The NCB move comes in the wake of Anoop's statement that he was a benami working on the instructions of Bineesh. The NCB officials are trying to mainly ascertain whether the money given by Bineesh to Anoop was used in the drug racket.
According to available information, in the event of getting any evidence on this count, NCB will take Bineesh into custody for further questioning and arraign him as an accused in the case.
In his earlier statement given to NCB, Anoop had stated that Bineesh gave him money to run the hotel "Hayat" in Kammanahalli in Bengaluru. But during further questioning by ED, he disclosed that Rs 50 lakh had come to his bank account through Bineesh.
