Thiruvananthapuram: Inspector General of Police G Lakshman, accused in the cheating case involving conman Monson Mavunkal, will not appear before the Enforcement Directorate on Monday for questioning.
A source said he cited health reasons. The crime branch too had sent him two notices earlier.
IG Lakshman is accused of trying to subvert the cheating case against Monson. He was suspended from service on November 10, 2021, after the crime branch found he had maintained a close connection with Monson even after the fraud made headlines.
Lakshman was allegedly an intermediary in a business transaction between Monson and an person from Andhra Pradesh. Evidence was purportedly recovered from the conman's house.
Former DIG S Surendran is expected to appear before the ED on August 16. If his interrogation is completed before the 17, the ED plans to question Congress' Kerala chief K Sudhakaran on August 18 and 19.
Earlier, the crime branch had arrested Sudhakaran and DIG Surendran after some of the complainants claimed that they had handed over money to Monson in Sudhakaran's presence.
Though they were later released on bail, the issue snowballed into a political controversy. Sudhakaran then said he had gone to Monson's residence for treatment, as the latter claimed to be a trained cosmetologist.
Monson is facing charges of swindling up to Rs 10 crore from several people. He had allegedly made false representations about himself and his business to various people and collected money from them.
Several politicians and high-ranking police officials landed in trouble after their photos with Monson surfaced on social media.
Monson, who claimed he oned rare and historic antiques, was arrested by the crime branch in September 2021.
