Thiruvananthapuram, The ED on Saturday pasted a summons outside the residence of Keralam Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, asking him to appear for questioning on October 23 in connection with the CMRL-linked money laundering case.
The Keralam Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau registered two FIRs on October 12 against Vijayan and his family members his daughter Veena T and son-in-law and former minister P A Mohamed Riyas, in connection with the alleged Cochin Mineral and Rutile Limited bribery case. “He went from here to Alappuzha and then to Kannur. After completing a two-day meeting, he will return to Thiruvananthapuram.
Officials said the move was intended to ensure that Vijayan received the summons and appeared for questioning as directed. He was not present at the residence when the officials arrived, they said. If they wanted, they could have served the notice directly to him,” the former education minister said. He said an ED official had first visited the residence alone in the morning to serve the summons, but had returned when Vijayan was not present. “Treating someone who had been the chief minister and now the Leader of the Opposition in this manner is completely unjust, anti-democratic and highly deplorable,” he said. When asked whether Vijayan will appear for questioning, Sivankutty said that it is up to the leader to decide about it.
On Saturday, an ED official from Kochi visited former Chief Minister Vijayan’s residence near Bakery Junction here and pasted the two-page copy of the summons near the entrance.
