The BJP’s Kerala unit president K Surendran was questioned on Wednesday by the special investigation team of Kerala Police probing the Rs 3.5 crore hawala case. This is the first time in the history of the State politics, the president of a political party was interrogated by the police for “impropriety” associated with cash dealings.
The questioning was in connection with the complaint lodged by Dharman, a BJP activist that he was waylaid by certain people at Kodakara near Thrissur and took away the cash he was transporting to Kerala from Karnataka. Later, the police told media persons that the money belonged to the Kerala unit of the BJP and was meant for election expenses.
The police zeroed in on M Ganeshan, the organizational secretary of the Kerala BJP who was reportedly in contact with Dharman through phone calls. The investigation officers said that Dharman had links with Surendran’s son.
Speaking to reporters after the 90 minutes long grilling, Surendran alleged that he was summoned by the police to embarrass the BJP leadership. “The Police themselves do not know what they are probing. They asked me whether I know some people and whether I had any dealings with them. This investigation is a drama to divert the attention of the people from real issues,” said Surendran.