Kochi, June 17 (IANS) Veena Vijayan, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, arrived at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office here on Wednesday to appear for questioning in the controversial CMRL-Exalogic case.

Wearing a mask, Veena stepped out of her vehicle near the gate of the ED office at around 10.30 a.m. and walked into the premises amid tight security and a massive presence of media personnel.

Her husband and CPI(M) legislator P.A. Mohammed Riyas accompanied her but did not enter the office.

The Kochi ED office resembled a fortress in the morning, with a heavy police presence and television crews lining up outside as the arrival of Veena, the founder-owner of the now closed Bengaluru-based IT firm Exalogic Solution, became the focus of intense attention.

Since early morning, news channels had been tracking her movement, reporting that Veena and Riyas had left the state capital and were travelling towards Kochi.

The ED had initially summoned Veena to appear last week.

However, she informed the agency that she was indisposed and offered to submit the documents through her counsel.

The ED did not accept the request and issued a fresh notice directing her to appear in person on Wednesday.

The questioning relates to the CMRL-Exalogic case, which has remained under investigation for nearly 30 months since it first surfaced.

The case gained political significance after allegations emerged over financial transactions between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and Exalogic.

Last month, the ED searched the rented residence of Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram, where Veena is also staying.

In the past two days, several top officials linked to CMRL, including the wife, son and daughter of CMRL Managing Director S. Sasidharan Kartha, appeared before the agency for questioning and later left the office.

Veena’s appearance before the ED, after a prolonged period of legal and political developments surrounding the case, has added a new dimension to the controversy. Her appearance marks the first time in Kerala’s history that a Chief Minister’s daughter has appeared before the central agency

–IANS

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