Published 18:11 IST, October 27th 2020
Kerala gold scam: Special NIA court dismisses anticipatory bail plea of accused Shamsudhin
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court on Tuesday dismissed the anticipatory bail petition of accused Shamsudhin in the Kerala gold smuggling case
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A National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court on Tuesday dismissed the anticipatory bail petition of accused Shamsudhin in the Kerala gold smuggling case which is currently under the agency's investigation. Shamsudhin, who has been named as the 25th accused in the case, is an owner of a jewellery store in Kozhikode. His relative Samju, is also named as one of the accused in the high-profile case.
At present, all primary-accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case are under judicial custody. These include Swapna Suresh, Sandeep Nair, Sarith PS and Rameez KT.
Sivasankar's role under scanner
Meanwhile, Republic TV on Sunday accessed messages which cast further aspersion on the role of M Sivasankar, the ex-Principal Secretary to the Kerala CM. As per the purported chats between Sivasankar and his chartered accountant Venugopal, the former aide of the Kerala CM is seen advising the latter to "keep quiet" following the arrest of Swapna Suresh and leave Kerala for Nagercoil. The suspended bureaucrat allegedly wrote, "TV channels think Sanal Kumar is the chartered accountant. Just keep quiet. If possible just leave the city and be in Nagercoil or so".
Sivasankar's suspension was announced by CM Vijayan on July 16, based on the recommendations by a state government-appointed two-member committee probing his role in the scandal. Amongst other charges, it has been alleged that the suspended bureaucrat allegedly played a key role in the appointment of Swapna Suresh as operations manager in the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited. Swapna is seen the be the 'king-pin' in the case.
The gold smuggling scam came to light when the Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport on July 5 from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate.
(With Agency Inputs)
18:11 IST, October 27th 2020