Kerala govt to conduct further probe into 2021 Kodakara Hawala case

Thiruvananthapuram: The state government on Friday decided to conduct further investigation into the 2021 Kodakara hawala case. The decision came after a meeting between the chief minister and the DGP. Former BJP office secretary Thiroor Satheesh's statement will be recorded in detail. The government will inform the court of the new developments in the case and seek permission for further investigation. Satheesh's revelation that the money seized in the Kodakara heist was hawala cash and meant for the BJP has kicked up a political storm ahead of the bypolls in Kerala.

Since the Thrissur Rang DIG-led Special Investigation Team, formed to probe the case, already submitted the charge sheet to the court, further investigation can only happen with the judiciary's permission.

The same SIT will record Satheesh's statement again. Earlier, CPM state secretary MV Govindan had called for a thorough investigation into the case. Meanwhile, BJP state president K Surendran dismissed the allegations on Friday, stating he had no time to entertain baseless accusations without evidence. He insisted there was no connection between the BJP and the Hawala case.

Thiroor Satheesh's allegation
According to Thiroor Satheesh, cash-filled bags labelled as election campaign materials arrived at the party’s Thrissur district office at 11 pm on April 2, 2021. He said the money was transported with the knowledge of district president Aneesh Kumar.

Although he did not know the exact amount, Satheesh mentioned that Dharmarajan, a businessman and party supporter, had brought the funds. He was also instructed to rent out a room for Dharmarajan. Though party leaders usually provided him with details of the person in such cases, Satheesh said no details were provided on this occasion. Satheesh admitted he assisted with moving the bags into the office, where the cash was stored in the room typically used by the party’s general secretaries.

He also recounted feeling uneasy after realising that the bags contained cash and took steps to secure the room. The money was later stolen during transport, a theft Satheesh only learned of the next day. He was an office secretary then, so he didn’t disclose these details to the police.

The Kodakara Hawala case
On April 4, 2021, just three days before the Kerala assembly elections, a staged accident at 4.40 am in Kodakara led to the hijacking of a vehicle carrying Rs 3.5 crore. The Special Investigation Team later determined this money was intended as BJP funds, transported from Karnataka to the BJP district treasurer in Alappuzha. The first charge sheet submitted to the Irinjalakuda First Class Magistrate Court listed 23 arrests and 19 witnesses, including BJP leaders. Of the looted amount, Rs 1.4 crore remains unaccounted for.