ED search at Bineesh's home in Kerala concludes; family alleges threat

Thiruvananthapuram: The ED on Thursday ended its search at the residence of Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of Kerala CPI(M) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, here in a money laundering case amid allegations of illegal detention of his family members and bid to plant 'evidence' by the agency.

Acting on a complaint by a relative thatthe Enforcement Directorate officials allegedly refused to allow milk or food to be given to Bineesh's child, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights ordered the agency to make sure that the rights of children were not affected by its probe.

Taking cognisance of the complaint, it also ordered the district police chief to look into it and register a case if there was any violation of law.

The searches, that began on Wednesday morning in multiple locations including at Bineesh's house here, concluded after about 26 hours as his relatives staged a protest dharna.

Bineesh, arrested on October 29 in a money laundering case linked to a drug seizure in Karnataka, is now under the custody of the ED.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, when asked by reporters whether he considered the searches as politically motivated, said they were part of a probe and he cannot react without knowing the details.

He, however, said the family can complain in case there were any lapses in the process of investigation.

"They might have given a complaint and the police might have taken some action with regard to it," Vijayan said, in an apparent reference to the action by the child rights panel.