Published 08:57 IST, December 10th 2020
Kerala gold scam accused Swapna Suresh flips stance; now says 'I'm safe in jail'
Kerala gold smuggling accused Swapna Suresh flipped from her previous claims of 'threat to life' and released another statement saying that she is safe in jail
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Just a day after claiming that her life was under threat at the Attakulangara prison in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala gold smuggling accused Swapna Suresh released another statement, saying that she is safe in jail. In her statement to the Deputy Inspector General of the prison, Swapna claimed that her lawyer misrepresented her remarks and made an ‘error’ in recording her statements.
On Tuesday, the key accused in the gold scam had alleged that her life was in danger at the instance of "highly influential interested persons". Detained at the Attakulangara jail until November 25 in multiple cases, she was sent to Customs custody thereafter.
Filing an application before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Economic Offences) court, Suresh alleged that she was warned by prison and police officials against disclosing names of persons in high authority who are allegedly involved in criminal offences.
Swapna further said that she was told not to cooperate with any investigative agency, failing which her family members could be harmed. Suresh informed the court that she might be taken back to the same prison as her custody period was over. In wake of this possibility, the accused contended that she could be subjected to mental and physical torture inside the jail.
Saying this, she called upon the court to direct the Director-General of Prisons and the Superintendent of Women's Prison and Correctional Home, Attakulangara to ensure her safety within the prison.
The Kerala gold smuggling case
On July 5, 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 Kumar, who worked at the UAE Consulate was arrested in this regard.
Reportedly, he told the Customs about the role of Swapna Suresh, an ex-Consulate employee now working as the manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited. Following the backlash over her appointment, she was sacked by the state government.
After the National Investigation Agency took over the case, it registered an FIR against Sarith Kumar, Swapna Suresh, Fazil Fareed, Sandeep Nair, and others. Various sections of the UAPA were slapped against the aforesaid individuals. The NIA has claimed that the smuggled gold was not used for jewellery purposes but for funding terror activities.
08:57 IST, December 10th 2020