Earlier in June, prime accused Swapna Suresh dropped a bombshell — claiming that Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his wife Kamala, daughter Veena and others were involved in the racket
The latest twist to the gold smuggling case came on Monday when accused Swapna Suresh vowed to ‘expose’ crimes by MLA KT Jaleel days after he filed a conspiracy case against her.
While talking to media in Kochi, Suresh declared that she will publicise all the matters on Jaleel in her statement which she recorded under section 164 CrPC before the court.
Speaking to media in Kochi, Suresh declared that she will publicise all the matters on Jaleel in her statement which she recorded under section 164 CrPC before the court.
“Because the case against me is a conspiracy. Where did the actual conspiracy take place here? Who has done all this? Who conspired to take Shaj Kiran to me as a representative of the Chief Minister and take it to a settlement level?” she added.
Let’s take a closer look at the row that has created a political storm in Kerala which has seen the names of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his wife Kamala and their daughter Veena being dragged into the controversy and the BJP and Congress taking to the streets to protest and wave black flags at the chief minister.
When did it come to light?
The gold smuggling case came to light after 30 kilos of gold worth Rs 15 crore concealed in diplomatic baggage was seized at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport by the Customs Department on 5 July, 2020.
But isn’t diplomatic baggage exempt from examination?
Routine examinations, yes. But the customs department had been tipped off.
As per Indian Express, the cargo was listed as bathroom fittings, noodles, biscuits and dates, sent from Sharjah-based Al Zatar Spices.
Sarith Kumar, who previously worked as a local PRO for the Consulate-General office in Thiruvananthapuram, turned up to take the cargo claiming he was still with the Consulate, as per the report.
But the Consulate had already informed Customs that Kumar had been removed as local PRO a year ago.
Customs, instead of releasing the cargo, opened the consignment in the presence of the officials of the UAE Consulate; another condition for examining any diplomatic cargo, as per the report.
What happened next?
Following the seizure, several people including former UAE consulate employees Suresh Suresh and Sarith PS and former Principal Secretary to the Kerala CM Sivasankar were arrested.
The case is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, National Investigative Agency (NIA) and the customs department.
As per The News Minute, Sivasankar, said to have been a favourite of Vijayan, was suspended from service on the basis of a departmental enquiry.
Investigators then discovered alleged links with the gold smuggling case and his call records showed that Sarith and Suresh had contacted him on multiple occasions, as per the report.
Sivasankar was suspended from service on the basis of a departmental enquiry. But the Opposition parties in Kerala insisted that a suspension was not enough, they continued to demand the resignation of Pinarayi.
Sivasankar was quizzed multiple times by the National Investigation Agency, Customs Department and Enforcement Directorate.
Suresh makes allegations against Sivasankar
Meanwhile, Suresh was released from jail in November after spending 16 months behind bars, as per The Quint.
In February 2022, Suresh told News18 Sivasankar had made false allegations against her in his book.
Sivasankar, in his autobiography narrating his version of the controversial episode titled Ashwathamavu verum oru aana, “I was shocked When I heard the unexpected news that Suresh Suresh who was a friend of mine for the past three years had a role in such illegal activities.”
He further claimed that Suresh had asked him on 1 and 2 July, 2020 if he could do anything to release the baggage from customs as the higher official in the consulate was getting furious. He then replied stating that customs have their formalities and it was not right to interfere, as per News18.
Suresh told News18, “On consul general’s instruction I contacted Shivashankar and told him about this baggage. He told me that he will get in touch with the customs and find out what has happened and said that since it is diplomatic baggage it will not be opened.”
“He called me later in the evening and told me to convey this message to the consul general that his baggage will be released soon without further delay,” she added.
Suresh added that she does not know whether Shivashankar called up the customs officials but this was the message he had conveyed to her, as per News18.
Suresh also alleged that before gold was seized by customs, at least 7 to 8 times some contraband was brought in. Worried about the malpractices, she had spoken to Shivashankar about it.
Suresh drops bombshell against Vijayan
On 7 June, Suresh dropped a bombshell – making allegations against Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his wife Kamala, daughter Veena, former minister KT Jaleel and additional private secretary CM Raveendran, and former bureaucrat Nalini Netto, as per The Quint.
Suresh had also claimed that she was also threatened by the CM’s mediator to withdraw her statement.
Suresh claimed that baggage containing currency was sent to Vijayan when he was in Dubai in 2016.
“Way back in 2016, Sivasankar contacted me while the Chief Minister was in Dubai. At that time, I was the secretary at the consulate. Sivasankar told me that the CM had forgotten a bag which should be delivered to Dubai immediately. As per the instruction of the consulate general, the bag was handed over to a diplomat at the consulate. When the bag was brought in by the consulate official, we realised that it contained currency. We have a scanning machine in the consulate. Then we have to scan whatever parcel arrives there. That’s how it all started,” she added.
She also urged the court and the investigation agencies to conduct a proper investigation.
Suresh had approached the Special Court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to record her statement under Section 164 of CrPC. Following her petition, the special court assigned the Ernakulam chief judicial magistrate court to assign a magistrate to record her statement, as per The Quint.
Hitting back at Suresh, Vijayan termed it a “part of the political agenda”.
Dismissing her allegations, Vijayan said that the same statement are being repeated by the accused.
“These comments by the accused are part of the political agenda. The public had already dismissed this agenda. After an interval, they are making the accused repeat the same statement. There is not even an iota of facts in this allegation. If you think that by spreading these lies, you can destroy the determination of the government and political leadership, I am reminding you that this is a futile exercise,” he said.
“I strongly believe that society will give an apt reply to those who think that they can benefit from this,” the Chief Minister added.
Stating that the public will dismiss the “fake allegations” aimed at tarnishing his government, Vijayan said that it works for the “comprehensive development and social welfare of Kerala”.
Amidst the political furore, the state government has appointed a 12-member team led by the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) to probe Suresh.
Row escalates, CM’s security tightened
On Saturday, BJP and Congress workers waved black flags at the Chief Minister at a couple of places in Kerala.
Following this, it was decided that a 40-member security team will accompany the chief minister while travelling. There will be five personnel in one pilot vehicle, 10 in two commando vehicles and eight in the quick response team.
Apart from these, one pilot and escort have also been deployed. This is in addition to the security provided to the events attended by the Chief Minister.
The security for the Chief Minister and ministers has been tightened after protests broke out in the last few days.
Suresh breaks down
“Why are they attacking me like this. I stick to the statement I gave. Don’t hurt people who are around me. Hurt me, please kill me so that the story will get over,” she said.
“Give me chance to live. Why are you doing this to my lawyer also now? Shaj Kiran told us that the lawyer will be affected, the case will be taken against him,” she added.
This came after police slapped non-bailable charges on her lawyer over a social media post that allegedly threatened to hurt religious sentiments.
With inputs from agencies
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