ED and Income Tax Department stepping up action; more cooperative banks may come under probe

THRISSUR: The ED and the Income Tax Department are stepping up their action following information that secret accounts and hidden property details were found in cooperative banks in the name of CPM's sub-components.

The Income Tax Department may extend the probe to more cooperative banks. ED will also try to clarify the accounts while questioning the leaders. Leaders may be asked to report repeatedly. ED had directed the CPM Thrissur district secretary to produce information about all assets. State Secretariat member PK Biju has been called for questioning today.

Leaders including state committee member MK Kannan and district secretary MM Varghese will also be called for questioning again. CPM is worried about repeated questioning of leaders during elections. MM Varghese, PK Biju and district secretariat member PK Shajan were questioned yesterday.

Meanwhile, the CPM had approached the Central Election Commission against the freezing of the Thrissur District Committee's bank account by the Income Tax Department. General Secretary Sitaram Yechury asked the Commission to intervene to stop the process till after the Lok Sabha elections. The CPM had alleged that the Income Tax department's action while the code of conduct was in place was a violation of free and transparent election process. The CPM also stated that the account information has been submitted to the Income Tax Department and the Election Commission.