Politics

ED probing money laundering at Chandrika?

VACB of Kerala raids Chandrika newspaper a mouthpiece of Muslim League in Kerala

March 13, 2020

It is a known fact that media houses in India are being used by politicians and businessmen for money laundering and to get legitimacy to their ill-gotten wealth by dubious means. “NDTV Frauds”, a path-breaking book authored by Sree Iyer, Editor-in-Chief, PGurus, ripped the mask off the face of Prannoy Roy, the one-time glamour boy of Indian Television who is the owner of New Delhi TV, country’s largest TV news network. Though the book is out in the market (the paperback can be bought from Amazon for Rs.199[1]) and is being sold like hotcakes, the mainstream media shuns to speak about it or even react to the explosive contents placed by the author before the nation.

An unholy alliance

The unholy alliance between media houses and anti-national elements was out in the open during the recent Delhi riots which claimed over 50 valuable lives and resulted in many people getting injured. The dead include an Intelligence Bureau officer by name Ankit Sharma and an official of the Delhi Police, Rattan Lal. Two Malayalam TV channels, Asianet News (owned by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a BJP MP) and Media One (functioning as a frontal agency of various Islamic terrorist organizations) came under scrutiny and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting ordered the suspension of their services for 48 hours. The Channels openly violated Cable TV Rules and Guidelines and propagated lies and fake news with artificially shot visuals.

There was a nation-wide uproar by the Congress, Marxists and the Islamic terrorists who cried from rooftops that media freedom is under attack in India. For reasons best known to him, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javdekar withdrew the suspension order within hours and the transmission was resumed by the two channels within a few hours!

Now, here comes another instance of the misuse of media for money laundering by politicians, especially Muslim politicians, who have emerged as a law unto themselves in Kerala because of their ever-increasing demographic strength. Last heard Kerala’s population consists of 30 percent Muslims and the day is not far off when they would claim a separate Islamic State of Malabar.

The office of Chandrika, the mouthpiece of Muslim League was raided by the officials of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) of the Kerala government on March 10, 2020,[2] in connection with the probe into the corruption charges of V K Ebrahim Kunju, a Muslim League leader and minister for Public Works Department in the Oommen Chandy Government (2011 to 2016). According to officials of the VACB, the raids were to unearth evidence in connection with certain inputs that the bank account of the daily Chandrika was used to transfer unaccounted money which was part of the kickback received by Kunju in connection with the construction of a flyover in the National Highway at Palarivattam, a suburb of Ernakulam.

The Enforcement Directorate is also probing the fund transfer of ill-gotten wealth using the daily’s bank account. G Gireesh Babu of Kalamassery in a petition to the Kerala High Court has stated that Rs.10 crores were deposited by P A Abdul Sameer, a director board member of Chandrika daily into the daily’s account at the Ernakulam Market Road Branch of Punjab National Bank on November 15, 2016.

The source of the money has not been stated and it is a Benami transaction, according to the petitioner. The Palarivattam Flyover scam has become a major embarrassment to the Congress-led United Democratic Front. Though there was no need of any flyover at the spot, the decision to construct a flyover was taken with the intention of making money, allege officials of the Public Works Department in Kerala. The newly built flyover started getting disintegrated and demolished within days of it being opened to traffic by the minister.

T O Sooraj, (belonging to the Muslim community) who is the former secretary of the Public Works Department (PWD), Sumit Goel, MD of RDS Projects Ltd and M T Thankachan, former general manager of Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Ltd were arrested by the special investigation team of Kerala Police, probing the case. Sooraj is a close confidante of P K Kunhalikutty, MP, former Kerala Minister for Industries and IT. All those who were arrested in the case have been given conditional bail, by Kerala High Court.[3]

The 750-meter-long bridge built at a cost of Rs.42 crores has been closed to traffic since early 2019. Though it is more than three days since the VACB raided the Chandrika daily, office bearers of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists have not issued a statement condemning the “intrusion” of Police into the affairs of the daily. The Chandrika is a newspaper “well-known” for its pro-Pakistan stance and a leading media establishment specialized in distorting news.

References:

[1] NDTV Frauds Paperback version – Amazon.in

[2] Vigilance raids Chandrika’s office in Kozhikode – Mar 11, 2020, The New Indian Express

[3] Palarivattom flyover scam: HC grants bail to Sooraj, two others – Nov 4, 2019, OnManorama

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