Half-price scam: Congress leader Sheeba Suresh grilled by ED; received clear evidence regarding her involvement, says ED

KUMILY: Former Kumily Panchayat president and Women's Congress district secretary Sheeba Suresh was summoned from abroad and questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the half-price scam case. A search was also conducted at her house in Kumily. The ED officials clarified that they received clear evidence regarding Sheeba's involvement in the scam. The ED is also trying to find out whether she had any financial dealings with Ananthu Krishnan, the main accused.

Sheeba and her husband Suresh were abroad with their daughter. They returned to the country on Tuesday morning. The questioning began afterwards and lasted until around 8:30 PM. A seven-member ED team from Kochi conducted the questioning.

Sheeba is the chairperson of the Sardar Patel Institute for Advanced Research and Development Society, which was started under the leadership of Ananthu Krishnan, and she is also a member of the NGO Confederation Board. Under this organization, Ananthu Krishnan and his group had established 64 seed societies across the state. Sheeba was reportedly in charge of overseeing the implementation of the project in various districts, including Thiruvananthapuram. There are indications that Sheeba used her connections to appoint coordinators in several places.

Sheeba has a close connection with the main accused, Ananthu Krishnan. Although Sheeba is not directly named as a suspect in the scam, complaints have been filed against her by seed coordinators at the Vandanmedu police station. The complaint alleges that she was involved in embezzling around three crore rupees.