Ajman (UAE), Aug 24 (TIWN) Kerala politician Thushar Vellappally, head of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), BJP's key ally in the state, was arrested in a cheque default case in the UAE on Wednesday and later released on bail.

According to the complaint filed by Nassil Abdullah, a Malayali businessman, at a police station in Ajman, a cheque to the tune of nearly Rs 19 crore given by Thushar ten years ago had bounced. The transactions revolved around a construction company that was earlier run by Vellappally Natesan, Thushar’s father, and later on by him. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Foreign Minister S Jaishankar seeking his intervention in the matter. 

Thushar, who’s also the convener of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Kerala, had fought the parliamentary elections unsuccessfully from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency against former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. 

When the company wound up as a result of mounting losses, it had dues to pay to Abdullah. Earlier this week, Thushar was reportedly invited to the UAE by Abdullah for discussions to resolve the dispute.

Thushar however, was unaware about Abdullah having filed a case with the local police in Ajman against him.  Vellapally Natesan who is a wealthy liquor baron-turned-influential Ezhava community leader, further alleged that Thushar was called to UAE by Abdullah and others on the pretext of resolving the case when actually had planned, behind the scenes, to get him arrested. Efforts are on to get Thushar released on bail on Thursday as Friday and Saturday are public holidays in the UAE.