The Enforcement Directorate (ED) continued with its raid on the premises of the Kandala Services Cooperative Bank in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala for the second consecutive day on Thursday. According to a report by news agency PTI, the locations of the raids by the ED included the bank's Kattakada branch and a few other places. Local CPI leader and the bank's former president N Bhasurangan's home was also raided.
The Left party expelled Bhasurangan from its primary membership, news agency PTI reported, adding that a member of the CPI's Thiruvananthapuram district committee informed the media about his expulsion. Quoting the member, the PTI report said this was not the first time that the CPI had taken action against Bhasurangan.
Kerala Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development, and Milk Co-operatives J Chinchu Rani also announced his removal from the Administrative Committee of the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF). He was the convenor of the Administrative Committee of KCMMF, which sells dairy products under its trade name, Milma.
Meanwhile, Onmanorama.com reported that Bhasurangan was admitted to a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram after he complained of uneasiness during the raid. The report said he is suspected to be in ED custody already.
According to the report, Kerala's cooperation department had detected "malpractices amounting to Rs 101 crore" at the cooperative bank, which owes Rs 173 crore to its depositors and has an outstanding loan payment of Rs 69 crore.
The ED raids followed reports submitted to the ED by the cooperative registrar regarding the loan fraud case, the report said.
Speaking to reporters, minister J Chinchu Rani said the KCMMF registrar had been directed to have an alternative system in place following the removal of Bhasurangan.
He is currently admitted to the cardiac ICU of the private hospital in the state capital.
ED Raids Nothing New: Cooperation Minister
Local media reports said the ED sleuths checked several bank documents, including those related to loan transactions, during the raids.
Meanwhile, VN Vasavan, who is the Kerala Minister for Cooperation and Registration, said the ED action was "nothing new".
He said the ED acted only after his department discovered the alleged fraud, and took appropriate steps, adding that the police also registered a case in connection with the irregularities.
"So, there is nothing new. Why is ED not going after the hundreds of banks across the country whose licences have been cancelled due to alleged irregularities? This (ED raid) is clearly a politically motivated action," the PTI report quoted him as saying.