Kochi, Jun 5: ED Director Rahul Navin arrived in Kerala on Friday to review the cases being probed by the agency’s Kochi unit, including the one involving mining company CMRL and its financial dealings with Exalogic, the now-defunct firm of Veena T, daughter of former CM Pinarayi Vijayan, sources said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) head’s visit also comes in the wake of the attack on the agency’s officials on May 27 when they were leaving a rented house of Vijayan after carrying out a search there in connection with the CMRL-Exalogic case.
The ED Director will return to Delhi on Saturday, the sources said.
Earlier in the day, the Kerala High Court dismissed an appeal moved by the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) against a single judge order paving the way for an ED probe in the company’s financial dealings with Veena and Exalogic.
The court rejected CMRL’s pleas to quash the ED’s Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and the summons issued by the agency to the company’s officials.
CMRL had earlier approached the High Court seeking to quash the ED’s ECIR, summons issued to company officials, and related proceedings, arguing that the agency lacked jurisdiction when the probe was initiated, but the plea was dismissed by the single-judge on May 26.
On May 27, the ED carried out searches at 12 locations connected with CMRL and Veena, including Vijayan’s rented house in the state capital, where the agency’s officials were attacked by a huge mob.
The case stems from Income Tax searches conducted at the company’s offices and the residences of its senior executives in January 2019. It was later investigated by the SFIO following a complaint filed by BJP leader Shone George.
