Kerala Gold Smuggling: Swapna Suresh makes startling allegations against Assembly Speaker

In a major development in the Kerala gold smuggling case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) submitted a document, in which the accused Swapna Suresh asserted that the State Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan used to call her to his flat for some 'personal dirty intentions'. 

The Speaker rejected the allegations made in a document submitted by the ED in the Kerala High Court, alleging that "fake propaganda" is unleashed against the Left organisations and its leaders.

In her statements given to the ED officials, Suresh stated that Sreeramakrishnan had called her to the flat in Marutham apartment in Pettah twice and told her that it was his "hideout". "I went there to meet him along with Sarith (another key accused in the gold smuggling case). However, as I did not agree to his personal interests, the role offered to me in the Middle East college was also dropped," the statement said quoting Suresh.

Relief for ED

Only a few days back there were reports that the ED officials who questioned Suresh on August 12 and 13 last year fabricated evidence, in relation to which the Crime branch filed FIR. Filed under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury), 192 (fabricating false evidence), 195-A (threatening any person to give false evidence) among others of the IPC, it accused ED officials of "forcing" gold smuggling scam accused Swapna Suresh to give statements against CM Pinarayi Vijayan. 

In response to the FIR, a plea was filed by the Deputy Director of the ED assailing the FIR, on which a  single-judge bench of the Kerala High Court on March 24 directed the state police to not take coercive action against them until March 30.

Gold smuggling scam probe

The Vijayan-led government in Kerala has also been facing heat in the gold smuggling scam ahead with the opposition seeking the CM's ouster. On July 5, 2020, Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate. Sarith PS who worked at the UAE Consulate was apprehended in this regard. Subsequently, Swapna Suresh, an ex-Consulate employee working as the manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited and M Sivasankar, the ex-Principal Secretary to Kerala CM were also arrested in this case.

In January 2020, the NIA filed a charge sheet before the Special Court. Claiming that the conspiracy started in June 2019, the agency alleged that the aforesaid persons raised funds and smuggled 167 kg of gold between November 2019 and June 2020 through the import cargo addressed to diplomats at the Consulate General of UAE in Thiruvananthapuram. Moreover, it added that the main accused had planned to smuggle more gold from countries such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Holding them responsible for threatening the "economic security of India", the agency revealed that the probe against absconding persons and others who facilitated the crime is underway.

(With inputs from PTI)