ED Examines Bank Locker of Kerala Ex-CM's Daughter in Money Laundering Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday examined the bank locker of Veena T, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in connection with a money laundering case involving her now-defunct IT firm and its alleged links to mining company CMRL. EED officials examined her locker at an HDFC Bank branch in the state capital in the morning in her presence. Central security force personnel were deployed outside the bank, according to visuals aired by television channels. The move comes two days after Veena was questioned for over nine hours at the ED's Kochi office in connection with the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Vijayan downplayed the development and said that the ED had searched his rented accommodation, and there was no issue if the agency wanted to examine his daughter's bank locker. "If they want to see it, let them. You (media) can go with your camera and see if anything big is found when the locker is opened," he said with a laugh. He was responding to reporters' queries on the matter during a press conference held here after the presentation of the Budget.