Published 16:59 IST, July 21st 2020
Kerala gold smuggling: Accused Swapna Suresh seeks bail; hearing likely on July 24
Swapna Suresh, a key accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case approached the special NIA court for seeking bail. Her plea is likely to be heard on July 24.
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Swapna Suresh, a key accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case approached the special NIA court for seeking bail. Earlier in the day, she along with co-accused Sandeep Nair was remanded to NIA custody for three more days. In her petition, Suresh claimed that she was falsely implicated in the case. Alleging that she was being made a scapegoat in the case because of the political rivalry between the state government and the Centre, Suresh argued that she cannot be booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
She buttressed her point by citing the lack of strong evidence of the terror angle and said that it was "cooked up". Moreover, Suresh observed that she was working for the UAE Consulate on "work on request basis" having served as the secretary of UAE's Consul General in the past. The key accused added that she would available for investigation at any time during her bail period. Her bail plea is expected to be heard on July 24.
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.
The case took a political turn after photos with Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan surfaced. It has been alleged that Suresh has links with the CM and has been seen with him at parties when she was working at the UAE Consulate. Following the backlash over her appointment, she was sacked by the state government. On July 16, Vijayan announced that the suspension of his former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar pending the departmental inquiry. It was reportedly found that he had violated the All-India Services Conduct rules due to his connections with the Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling accused. M
A day later, a special NIA court remanded Sarith Kumar, the prime accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case to NIA custody for 7 days. After the NIA 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 alleged that the smuggled gold was not used for jewellery purpose but for funding terror activities. Meanwhile, the Congress party not only decided to move a no-confidence motion against the Left Front government but also demanded the resignation of the Kerala CM.
16:59 IST, July 21st 2020