Thiruvananthapuram: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Saturday pasted a five-page notice at former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s rented residence here, directing him to appear before the agency in Kochi Friday.
According to the report, ED officials pasted the notice at the entrance after no one at the residence accepted it. The agency had earlier sent the notice by post.
The development triggered a political reaction, with senior CPI-M leader and former state minister V. Sivankutty reaching the house after learning about the ED officials’ visit.
Speaking to the media, Sivankutty said the ED officials had initially visited the residence and enquired about Vijayan. The staff informed them that he was not there and was in Kannur, he said.
The officials subsequently returned with a few police personnel. They told those present that, as nobody was willing to accept the notice, they had no option but to paste it at the entrance, Sivankutty said.
Questioning the ED’s action, Sivankutty said Vijayan’s whereabouts were known, and the officials could have gone to Kannur to meet him if they wanted to serve the notice in person.
“I fail to understand why the ED acted in this manner when Vijayan is in Kannur, and his whereabouts are known to everyone. If they wanted, they could have gone to Kannur and met him,” he said.
Sivankutty termed the action serious, arguing that the matter was before the Supreme Court and alleging that the agency was acting beyond its brief.
Asked whether Vijayan would appear before the ED in Kochi Friday as directed in the notice, Sivankutty declined to speculate.
“That you have to ask him,” the former minister said.
The notice was pasted at the same residence where ED officials conducted a raid and recovered a red diary, a few months back, which is understood to have opened a can of worms for the veteran two-time Chief Minister and the present Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly.
ED officials, however, term this a normal procedure when the notice is not accepted.
