Published 15:17 IST, July 9th 2020
'Custodial interrogation unnecessary, nothing to disclose', says Swapna Suresh's bail plea
Republic Media Network accessed the bail petition of Swapna Suresh which stated that she is falsely implicated in the case in which she is not connected at all.
The sensational gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh who was the operating manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure (KSITI) Ltd, a government entity got into trouble after allegedly smuggling gold from the UAE, the entire Kerala government is been questioned, including the Kerala CMO as Principal Secretary M Sivasankaran is also under the radar for appointing Swapna Suresh in the post.
However, the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan denied all the allegations and said that Swapna doesn't hold any government post and it is just an appointed post adding that the Kerala CMO doesn't have any connection to the recruitment. He also maintained that the CMO was not aware of her appointment as the operations manager of the KSITI Ltd.
The customs department are still hunting for Swapna Suresh and her business partner Sandeep Nair who are still on the run. Meanwhile, Swapna Suresh has filed an anticipatory bail petition at the Kerala high court, even as customs are searching for her for three days.
Republic accessed the bail petition of Swapna Suresh which stated that she is falsely implicated in the case in which she is not connected at all. The bail plea says that she doesn't have anything to disclose to the investigation officer in the matter and the custodial interrogation is unnecessary at this point of time.
Swapna Suresh has also blamed media stating that it has been spinning stories about her role in the gold smuggling case. She said the media trial which is happening is unwarranted and showing her photographs in the TV is a violation of SC's order.
Swapna claimed she had no role in the crime and that she only made a phone call to the Assistant Commissioner of the Customs on the direction on the acting Consular General of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, Rashed Khasmi Ali Musaiqri Al. She has been charged under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962: sections 104 (6) (c) (import or export of any goods which have not been declared in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the market price of which exceeds one crore rupees) and 135 (evasion of duty or prohibitions).
Swapna continued to be engaged by Consulate even after quitting her Job which was related to the UAE consulate. She has mentioned in the petition that she was well appreciated by the UAE top heads for performing her duty diligently. However, Swapna didn't mention anything about her political connections or anything related to her contacts with the bureaucracy of Kerala which is been alleged by the opposition parties.
The bail petition will be heard by the Kerala high court on Friday most probably, the advocate of Swapna Suresh said.
Updated 15:17 IST, July 9th 2020