Thiruvananthapuram: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday launched raids at two places in Kerala, one at Palakkad and the other at Kottayam, as part of the simultaneous searches in various states by them at the offices and establishments of the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI).
The searches were continuing at both places.
In Palakkad, the ED sleuths reached the palatial home of diaspora businessman Kabeer, while at Kottayam, the raid was on at the residence of Nishad, an activist of the SDPI and a former office bearer of the now-banned Popular Front of India ( PFI).
While Kabeer was not present, his relatives are there and the ED is looking into more details of the money laundering case that is being probed at the highest level.
On March 6, there were similar raids in three districts of the state and both these searches came after the arrest of the SDPI’s National President M.K. Faizy in connection with a money laundering case tied to the PFI.
Faizy was taken into custody at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on March 3 and was subsequently presented before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court at the Patiala House courts. The court granted the ED six days of custodial interrogation.
Investigators suspect that the SDPI received Rs 4.07 crore from the PFI through illegal hawala channels and allegedly funnelled the funds to its units nationwide.
Founded in 2009, the SDPI has long been suspected of having close ties with the PFI, which was banned by the Union government in 2022 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for its alleged involvement in anti-national activities.
While the SDPI has consistently denied any direct association with the PFI, claiming to be an independent political organisation, Faizy’s arrest and the fresh raids have once again put the party’s financial dealings under the scanner.
Faizy himself was a former PFI member before joining the SDPI in 2009. Over the years, he rose through the ranks and was eventually elected as the party’s national President.
(IANS)
