In Kerala gold scam case, Union Minister demands CM's resignation; 10 accused granted bail

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing the terror link in the Kerala gold smuggling case on Wednesday indicated in a special court in Kochi that it suspected the link of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's gang in the sensational racket. Reacting to this, Union Minister V Muraleedharan on Thursday said that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan must resign in the wake of this revelation.

'It is a grave matter'

Taking to Twitter, Muraleedharan said that it is a "grave matter" and substantiates the UAPA charges levelled against the accuses and their links to terror groups. In another tweet, he added that NIA's revelations "exposes the patronage given to smugglers and anti-national elements in Kerala." The Minister of State for External Affairs alleged that Pinarayi Vijayan has been sheltering criminals and Kerala has become a safe haven for such elements. "Kerala CM must resign!" he said. 

10 accused in Kerala gold smuggling case granted bail

Meanwhile, the special court on Thursday granted conditional bail to ten accused arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the Kerala gold smuggling case. The Special NIA court, however, dismissed bail pleas of three key accused. Two other prime accused in the case Swapna Suresh and Sarith PS withdrew their bail pleas on Thursday.

Granting bail to the ten accused with stringent conditions, the court directed them to execute a bond for ₹10 lakh each with two solvent sureties each for the like sum. They were also ordered to surrender their passports, not to leave the state without the court's permission and not make any attempt to contact any of the prosecution witnesses.

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Kerala gold scam

The NIA, probing the terror angle in the gold smuggling through the diplomatic channel, initially named Sarith, Swapna Suresh, and Sandeep Nair and Fazil Fareed as the accused in the case which relates to the seizure of 30 kg of 24-carat gold worth ₹ 14.82 crores at Thiruvananthapuram airport on July 5 by the Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Kochi.

During the course of the investigation, NIA has arraigned at least 26 others as accused and arrested many of them. Besides NIA, the Customs and Enforcement Directorate are also probing the case of smuggling of gold through diplomatic baggage addressed to the UAE consulate at Thiruvananthapuram since November last year.

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