Bank account of CPM Thrissur District Committee frozen; Action follows Income Tax Department inspection

THRISSUR: The bank account of the CPM Thrissur district committee has been frozen by the Income Tax Department. This action follows an inspection of the bank conducted yesterday. Yesterday, the Enforcement Directorate questioned CPM Thrissur district secretary MM Varghese regarding the Karuvannur bank fraud case. The CPM District Committee holds an account at the Bank of India branch near the CPM District Committee office in Thrissur. This account, established in 1998, holds a balance of five crore ten lakh rupees.

On April 2nd, one crore was withdrawn from this account. The Enforcement Directorate brought these matters to the attention of the Income Tax Department, which subsequently investigated further. Notably, this account was not disclosed in the income tax return filed by the CPM. In addition to freezing the bank account, the Income Tax Department has also frozen transactions and issued a letter to the bank authorities. Furthermore, they instructed the CPM district committee not to utilize the one crore rupees withdrawn from the account and demanded clarification on the source of funds.

CPM Thrissur district leadership has pledged to provide answers after consulting with their chartered accountant. Meanwhile, MM Varghese maintains that there is nothing to conceal and suggests that this action coincides with the upcoming election, where the LDF holds a clear advantage in Kerala. He asserts that all bank transactions were conducted in accordance with the law.