Kochi | Kerala Congress state president K Sudhakaran on Monday appeared before Enforcement Directorate (ED) here in connection with its probe into a cheating case in which the prime accused is controversial antique dealer Monson Mavunkal. The senior Congress leader reached the ED office at around 11 AM for interrogation in the case registered by the Crime Branch.

The Crime Branch had earlier arrested Sudhakaran and released him on bail in a case filed on the basis of the statement by complainants who lost their money in the cheating case, claiming that they had handed over the money to Mavunkal in the presence of Sudhakaran.

When the allegations cropped up against him two years ago, Sudhakaran had denied them.

The issue had snowballed into a political controversy as images of Mavunkal along with Sudhakaran emerged. Sudhakaran had said he had gone to Mavunkal's residence for treatment as the latter claimed to be a trained cosmetologist.

Mavunkal had allegedly made false representations about himself and his business to various people and collected money from them. Many images of Mavunkal with senior police officers and bureaucrats of the state have surfaced.

Cherthala resident Mavunkal, who claims to be in possession of rare and historic antiques, was arrested by the Crime Branch in September 2021. He is facing charges of having swindled Rs 10 crore from several people.

Mavunkal was recently sentenced to multiple life imprisonments in a rape case of a minor girl.