Published 08:33 IST, September 5th 2020
'Arrest & hang him if found guilty': CPM's Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on his son's 'drug links'
In his first response after his son's name surfaced in ongoing 'Sandalwood' drug probe, CPM leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said arrest him if found guilty
In his first response after his son's name surfaced in the ongoing 'Sandalwood' drug probe, CPM's state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that central government agencies can arrest his son Bineesh Kodiyeri if he is found guilty. Addressing a press conference, Balakrishnan commented upon his son Bineesh Kodiyeri's alleged links with drug trafficking gang and gold smuggling cases and said that if Opposition has proof against his son, they should give it to the investigative agencies.
Bineesh Kodiyeri's name has emerged after one of the arrested accused - a drug peddler - Mohammed Anoop named him in his voluntary statement to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday, as per sources.
Balakrishnan said, "The central agencies are probing the gold smuggling case. If Bineesh Kodiyeri is involved in anything, let it be probed and if found guilty let him be arrested. No one is going to protect anyone guilty. The opposition leader is raising many allegations. If he has any proof against Bineesh, he should hand it over to investigation agencies." Further, he said, "No one is going to protect Bineesh. If he is found guilty let him be arrested. If he has committed any crime that needs to be hanged, let him be hanged. As a Communist, I have faced attacks from many quarters. So if anyone thinks that I can be weakened by raising any baseless allegation against my son Bineesh, it's just a fallacy. Let the investigation agencies probe it, as a parent too I am not going to protect anyone," he added.
Before the revelation, on September 2, Youth League leader PK Firoz had alleged that Bineesh Kodieyeri, has close links with the drug smuggling accused who was arrested in Bengaluru last week, which was denied by the latter. "Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh was detained in Bangalore on June 10. The same day Bineesh has contacted Anoop in Bangalore. Smuggling case investigation officials should take all these into consideration, " he had said.
Kerala Congress Links Gold Smuggling Case With Sandalwood Drug Bust
Slamming the CPI(M)'s alleged links in the Sandalwood drug bust and the gold smuggling case, Kerala Leader of Opposition & Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, on Friday, demanded a CBI probe into it. He alleged that the CPM was shielding people involved in gold smuggling while the CPI(M) state secretary's son - Kannada actor Bineesh Kodiyeri was involved in the alleged drug racket in the Kannada film industry.
"There is a clear link between the Kerala Gold Smuggling case and the drug trafficking mafia caught in Bengaluru. I am requesting the central & state governments to do a proper inquiry of the case because the CPM state secretary's son is involved in the drug business," Chennithala said.
What is the Sandalwood drug racket?
The drug racket prevalent in the Kannada film industry - 'Sandalwood' came to light when deceased journalist Gauri Lankesh's brother - Indrajit Lankesh revealed the involvement of certain actors in the drug menace- naming two actresses who were allegedly not being interrogated due to the supposed political connection. “There is a link between the drug industry and the Sandalwood. Some actresses consume banned substances at parties and carry them in their vanity sets too,” he said.
Police sources claim that drugs being supplied through the ‘dark net’ was detected while raiding the places belonging to a few drug peddlers. Joint commissioner of police (CCB), Sandeep Patil, stated that a notice has been issued to Lankesh summoning him for questioning. Three alleged drug peddlers - M Anoop, Anikha D and R Ravindran have been arrested when NCB conducted raids in the city and seized drugs like LSD, MDM, ecstasy, cannabis worth Rs 1.25 crores which were being supplied to local youths.
Binoy Kodiyeri's rape case
Apart from Bineesh, his brother- Binoy has been charged with rape and cheating after a 33-year-old woman from Bihar, a former bar dancer alleged that Binoy Vinodini Balakrishnan sexually assaulted her promising marriage and that she has a child from him. While Binoy has denied the allegations, he alleged that the woman had sent a letter to him demanding Rs five crores for cheating her. Last year, a travel ban was imposed on Binoy by a Dubai court in connection with a cheating case filed by the Gulf-based JAAS Tourism, which alleged that he had cheated the company of Rs 13 crore.
Updated 08:33 IST, September 5th 2020