Shekhar Kumar, Assistant Director of the Enforcement Directorate’s Ernakulam office and the prime accused in a Vigilance-registered bribery case, has approached the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail. The plea comes after allegations that he demanded a bribe of ₹2 crore through an intermediary to help a complainant evade legal action.

The complaint was filed by Aneesh Babu, a cashew businessman from Kollam. In his petition, Kumar contended that the allegations were fabricated to derail ongoing proceedings against the complainant.

During the hearing, the State government informed the Court of its plan to oppose the bail plea with a detailed response. The Director General of Prosecution, appearing for the State, requested more time to complete a forensic analysis of data recovered from the mobile phones of the other three accused.

In response, Justice A Badharudeen extended the interim protection from arrest granted to the officer and directed him to fully cooperate with the investigation.

Amid the controversy, the ED officer was transferred from the Kochi zonal office to the Shillong unit. According to sources, the move was part of a nationwide reshuffle and not linked to any disciplinary action. Additionally, P Radhakrishnan, the investigating officer in the Karuvannur bank fraud case, was shifted to the agency’s Srinagar zonal office.

The matter has been posted for further hearing on July 3. Meanwhile, the ED notified Aneesh Babu, directing him to appear before the agency with all documents related to the Vigilance case. During the hearing of his own bail application, the ED informed the Court that it had no plans to arrest him.
(With Live Law Inputs)