Thiruvananthapuram: Crime branch SIT’s probe into Enforcement Directorate (ED) findings against former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T Veena and son-in-law P A Mohamed Riyas could pave the way for a CBI probe, with the central agency having already placed before the state substantial material, including findings of hawala transactions and overseas links. The move could also provide UDF govt a political buffer against the charge that it acted directly on the ED report, while giving ED the predicate offence needed to pursue the money-laundering angle.The probe could provide a route for govt to act on the ED findings. Former vigilance director and former DGP Vinson M Paul said such a course was among the options available. “If the crime branch finds hawala transactions, they can recommend referring the case to the CBI. This could be one of the options before state govt,” he said.Even establishing the hawala transactions is not a tough task for SIT, police sources said. “The SIT would not necessarily even have to replicate ED’s detailed exercise or independently establish the entire financial trail before making such a recommendation. ED has already placed its findings and supporting material before the state police,” a top police officer said on condition of anonymity.This could provide govt a way out of the political dilemma. A direct decision to act against Vijayan on the ED recommendation could expose UDF govt to the charge of relying on a central agency against its principal political opponent. If crime branch recommends a CBI probe, any subsequent referral could be presented as the outcome of a state police assessment rather than direct action on the ED report.CBI cannot independently take up a fresh case in Keralam as the previous LDF govt had withdrawn the state’s general consent in 2020. Specific consent from state govt or a directive from the high court or Supreme Court would therefore be required. The route could also affect ED.“ED requires a pre-existing scheduled offence registered by an authorised agency to go ahead with a probe. It is also called a predicate offence, even though it can conduct a preliminary probe like it had done in the SFIO findings in this case,” Paul said.Registration of a scheduled offence by CBI or crime branch could provide the predicate-offence foundation for ED to proceed with the money-laundering aspect under the PMLA, subject to statutory requirements.The immediate issue is why the state took several days to act on ED findings despite its detailed inquiry. Paul said the material could not be treated like an ordinary complaint requiring the police to start the fact-finding process from scratch. “This is a report given by a central agency after considering all the relevant facts. They have come to a conclusion and referred the matter to the state police chief. Based on that, they can clearly register a case. That is the essence of the Lalita Kumari case judgment. In this case, a detailed inquiry has already been conducted. So this delay is totally unjustified,” Paul said.The SIT could thus become the bridge between ED’s findings and the next stage, leaving open both a CBI referral and further ED action once a predicate offence is registered.
