Bengaluru: Bineesh Kodiyeri, the son of a veteran CPM leader in Kerala who was arrested last year by the Enforcement Directorate over a money laundering case linked to a narcotic drug bust in Bengaluru, averred in the Karnataka High Court that he was being framed by the investigating agency.
"I was forcibly made to sign on the debit card of drug case accused Anoop Mohammad while in custody," Bineesh stated during the arguments on the bail petition filed in connection with the sensational case.
Bineesh had argued the other day that the seizure of Anoop's debit card during the raid carried out at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram was part of a well-planned drama.
Anoop Mohammad, a Kochi native arrested over the drugs case, had told the ED interrogators soon after his arrest last year that Bineesh was the 'boss' and that he was only a benami.
Early investigation by the ED had revealed that huge sums of money were transferred not only to Anoop's account but also to the accounts of Bineesh in Kerala. Moreover, it was found the accused had launched two benami event management companies within and outside Kerala. The companies were started in the name of Rajeesh Raveendran who was arrested along with his aide Anoop over the drug racket case.
The ED had also informed a local Bengaluru court earlier that Bineesh consumed drugs and he was a habitual offender having at least 10 cases registered against him in Kerala and Dubai.
The ED will place its counter arguments on Friday.
Bineesh who was arrested on October 29, 2020 is currently lodged in Parapanna Agrahara Central Jail in Bengaluru. He is the son of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the former general secretary of the Kerala unit of the CPM.
