Kodiyeri helped drug case accused in biz

Kozhikode (Kerala): Kerala CPI-M secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan's son Bineesh Kodiyeri has "close links" with some members of a drug trafficking racket busted by the Narcotics Control Bureau in Bengaluru recently, the youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) alleged here on Wednesday.

Youth League general secretary P K Firoz alleged Bineesh had invested money in a hotel business launched by drug case accused Mohammed Anoop in Kammanahalli in 2015 and demanded a comprehensive investigation into it.

Over the years the name of Bineesh has surfaced regularly and he is known to have wide ranging contacts in business and film circles.

His elder brother Binoy was in the dock when a 33-year-old Mumbai-based woman filed a complaint before the police alleging that he had sexually exploited her for several years on the pretext of marriage and they have an eight-year-old child. This case is now waiting the result of a DNA test conducted in Mumbai.

As the BJP also raised the issue and demanded a probe, Bineesh said Anoop had borrowed money from him and others some years ago but pleaded ignorance about his alleged involvement in drug trafficking, adding news about it was a shock to him.

Addressing a press conference here, Firoz claimed Anoop has given a statement to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) that he started a hotel in Kammanahalli in Bengaluru with financial help of Bineesh Kodiyeri.

He also said Anoop has shared on Facebook a photograph of Bineesh Kodiyeri attending a night party with him in Kumarakom. Reacting to the allegations against him, Bineesh said he knew Anoop and his family and the latter had borrowed money from him and some others for starting the restaurant business in Bengaluru some years ago.

Bineesh said he was shocked after hearing the news about Anoop's alleged involvement in drug trafficking. "I never knew that Anoop had such a background. The news about Anoop is shocking for me as well as other persons who know him. When I met him for the first time, he was doing T- shirt business.

"For starting the restaurant business some years ago, Anoop had borrowed money from me and also from some other friends too," Bineesh told a Malayalam news channel, a clipping of which was posted on his Facebook page. Bineesh said the photo which Firos referred to had been taken when he was having food together with Anoop and other friends some years ago.

BJP state general secretary B Gopalakrishnan demanded a thorough probe into Kodiyeri family's link with Anoop.The NCB had seized ecstasy or MDMA pills and cash during the raids conducted in various locations in Bengaluru last month.

Three people -- M Anoop, R Ravindran and Anikha D -- were arrested by the agency during these raids.MDMA (methylenedioxy- methamphetamine), commonly known as ecstasy, is a party drug that alters mood and its perception is chemically similar to stimulants and hallucinogens. It produces a feeling of increased energy and pleasure.

Sandalwood filmmaker Indrajit Lankesh had openly said that drug use was rampant in the Kannada film industry.

"Some actors do consume drugs, mostly at the parties. I am aware that they consume drugs inside their vanity vans on the sets. I would not deny the allegation that there is a link between the drug mafia and the Kannada film industry. Many budding actors attend rave parties and consume drugs to get noticed. But it is also true that not all actors consume drugs," Indrajit Lankesh had said.

Stating that the drug menace is not new, it has been on for many years and mostly the rich fall into its trap, Bommai said, "We ordered the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police to probe the Kannada film industry's links to drugs in the aftermath of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) busting a trafficking racket in the state recently."

The Home Minister also admitted that several postal officials were hand-in- glove with the drug mafia. Four postal officials have been accused of involvement in a drug racket and a few foreign nationals arrested in this connection, Bommai stated.