ORDER

This bail application is filed under section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short ‘ BNSS ’).

2. Petitioner is the sixth accused in ECIR/KCZO/06/2024 of the Enforcement Directorate, Kochi registered alleging offences punishable under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (for short 'the PMLA')

3. The prosecution alleges that advertisements of various illegal Chinese loan applications were circulated by the accused through social media platforms to induce customers and after those applications were installed in the mobile phones of the customers, crucial data from their mobile phones, including contacts, photographs and files were retrieved and they were used to extort money using mule accounts of people based in Kerala which were later siphoned off and the accused thereby committed the offences under section 420 IPC which in turn is a scheduled offence under Part A of the PMLA. Petitioner was arrested on 20.02.2025 and he has been in custody since then.

4. Sri. Rajesh Kumar T.K., the learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner was arrested without communicating to him the grounds for his arrest and als