As the Enforcement Directorate search at the house of Kerala CPM secretary's son Bineesh Kodiyeri in Thiruvananthapuram ended after 24 hours by Thursday morning, Bineesh's wife alleged that the central agency attempted to plant evidence against her husband in the Sandalwood drug case.
The day witnessed the central and state agencies locking horns as the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights decided to initiate a case against ED officials on charges of denying basic rights of Bineesh's child and a local police team blocking the ED team while they were about to leave the house and seeking a statement in view of a complaint regarding illegal detention. Bineesh's close relatives, including women, even staged a sit-in in front of Bineesh's house alleging illegal detention of his family
Bineesh's wife Renita told media that the ED pressurised her to sign on the search report mentioning that a credit card in the name of Mohammed Anoop, one of the key accused in the Bengaluru drug trafficking case, was recovered from Bineesh's room. She said that the ED could not recover anything else from the house and the credit card seemed to be a planted one.
She said she had not seen the ED recovering the card from the house and hence she refused to sign on the search report that mentioned that the card was recovered from the house.
The ED officials pressurised for hours to sign on it. They said that Bineesh could be saved only if she signed on it, alleged Renita, adding that she refused to sign on the documents. She claimed that her husband was innocent.
The ED search at Bineesh's house prolonged owing to the reluctance of his wife to sign on the search report. The ED is likely to take a stand that the family did not cooperate with the search.
Meanwhile, a team of Kerala Police blocked the ED officials while they were leaving Bineesh's house. They received a complaint from a relative of Bineesh that his wife, child and mother-in-law were illegally detained in the house. After the ED officials offered to give a statement, the police allowed them to leave the premises.
The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights also visited Bineesh's house following a complaint of denying the right of Bineesh's three-year-old child. ED allowed Bineesh's wife, daughter, and her mother to meet the commission. They alleged that the basic needs of the child could not be met owing to the 24-hour-long search by the ED. The commission later said that action would be initiated as the child's rights were being denied.
Considering chances of protest, a search at Bineesh's house since Wednesday was carried out under tight CRPF officials.
Earlier in the morning, Bineesh's relatives, including two maternal aunties, staged a sit-in in front of Bineesh's house alleging that Bineesh's wife and child were kept in illegal detention.
Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan refused to make any direct comments on the developments citing that it was an investigation against an individual. The CPM state leadership was learnt to have met on Thursday morning and evaluated the developments.
The swift actions of the child rights commission and local police also triggered allegations of political favouratism by the agencies.