Former Keralam chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was served ED summons as officials pasted a notice outside his rented residence in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday in connection with the Cochin Mineral and Rutile Limited (CMRL)-Exalogic payoff case.
“He went from here to Alappuzha and then to Kannur. After completing a two-day meeting, he will return to Thiruvananthapuram. If they wanted, they could have served the notice directly to him,” PTI quoted the former education minister as saying.
The leader of opposition in the Keralam cabinet has been asked by the ED to appear at 11 am on October 23, to give evidence and produce records, news agency ANI reported.
Officials cited by PTI said Vijayan was not present at the residence when the officials arrived. 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. Earlier reporting noted: Officials said the move was intended to ensure that Vijayan received the summons and appeared for questioning as directed. Earlier reporting noted: He was not present at the residence when the officials arrived, they said.
Earlier reporting noted: 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.
“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.
