Bengaluru: The custody period of Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of CPM's Kerala secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to a drug seizure in Karnataka, was extended by five more days.
The extension was granted by the Bengaluru City Sessions Court as the ED accused Bineesh of not cooperating with the investigation. The probe agency informed the court that they could not question Bineesh for two days as he had suffered health issues while in custody.
Bineesh informed the court that he had been suffering from severe body ache. He also claimed to have vomited ten times. He had appeared fatigued when he was brought to the ED office on Monday morning. He told the mediapersons gathered there of feeling uneasy and climbed the stairs of the building with effort.
Meanwhile, Bineesh's brother Binoy approached the Karnataka High Court on Monday claiming the former was being denied of rightful legal aid. Binoy also asked the court to grant him permission to meet his brother.
Bineesh was arrested on October 29 following which a city court had sent him to the agency's custody till November 2. On Sunday, he was taken to the Bowring Hospital in Bengaluru for a check-up after he complained of back pain.
Meanwhile, outside the hospital, Bineesh told mediapersons that he is being forced by the ED officials to say things he did not do.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is also likely to seek Bineesh's custody for further questioning. The central agency alleged that the "drug peddler" in the case, Mohammed Anoop, was a "benamidar" of Bineesh.
The ED probe stems from a NCB investigation that claimed to have busted an ecstasy pills drug trafficking racket in Karnataka in August along with the arrest of Anoop and two others.
Bineesh has maintained that he knew Anoop and his family and the latter had borrowed money from him and some others for setting up the restaurant business in Bengaluru a few years ago.
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.
