Kochi, 12 Oct (H.S.): Kerala’s Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has registered two FIRs in the CMRL–Exalogic monthly payment case, naming Pinarayi Vijayan as the first accused in one and Mohamed Riyas as the first accused in the other.

Both cases were registered by the bureau’s Special Investigation Unit–I following a Kerala High Court directive. The FIRs will be submitted to the Vigilance Court in Thiruvananthapuram today.

Vijayan’s daughter, Veena, whose company Exalogic had financial dealings with Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL), has been named as an accused in both cases. Her husband, Riyas, figures in the second case.

The first case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, while the second concerns alleged hawala transactions. The Vigilance Director instructed officials to register separate FIRs after obtaining legal advice.

The action follows an order by Justice A. Badharudeen directing the registration of an FIR based on documents supplied by the Enforcement Directorate concerning financial transactions between CMRL and Exalogic.

The ED had earlier forwarded the documents to the state police chief. Acting on that material, the state government announced a preliminary inquiry and constituted a special investigation team headed by Crime Branch Additional Director General of Police H. Venkatesh.

However, the High Court directed that the allegations be investigated after registering an FIR, rather than through a preliminary inquiry alone.

The court issued the order on a petition filed by advocate K.M. Shajahan seeking a Vigilance investigation into the transactions.

Shajahan alleged that the government had failed to register an FIR despite receiving the ED’s report and supporting documents.

With the registration of the two cases, the Vigilance bureau has initiated a formal criminal investigation into the alleged transactions. The allegations against those named in the FIRs remain subject to investigation, and registration of the cases does not establish their guilt at this stage.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman