Thiruvananthapuram: An eight-member team will restart the investigation into the Kodakara Hawala case. The team, headed by Kochi DCP Sudarshan and under the direction of Thrissur DIG Thomson Jose, will include Irinjalakuda DySP V K Raju, Kodakara SHO, and Valappad SI.
The government has decided to investigate the case further based on the recent disclosure made by Thiroor Satheesh, the former secretary of BJP's Thrissur office. The first investigation team submitted a report in 2021 stating that more than Rs 41 crore had reached Kerala from Karnataka and other places during the Assembly elections for the BJP.
Background
On April 4, 2021, 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.