Published 15:55 IST, October 15th 2020
Kerala gold smuggling case: Opposition lambasts Vijayan govt over 'D-company link' claim
After the NIA alleged a link between some of the Kerala gold smuggling scam accused and the D-company, the opposition lashed out at the state government.
After the NIA alleged a link between some of the Kerala gold smuggling scam accused and the D-company, the opposition on Thursday lashed out at the state government. Expressing his shock at this development, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala contended that the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government was supporting the culprits in the smuggling case. Describing Kerala CM's former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar as the "kingpin", he expressed hope that the NIA will unearth all details.
On the other hand, Kerala BJP chief K Surendran demanded the resignation of Vijayan. According to him, the connection between the accused in the case with D-company and ISIS has been established. Reiterating that the state government is trying to shield the smugglers, he opined that the Kerala CM had lost the moral right to continue. Meanwhile, MoS MEA V Muraleedharan acknowledged that this is a serious issue and exuded confidence in the NIA being able to substantiate the UAPA charges against the accused.
NIA's claim in court
The gold smuggling scam came to the fore 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. 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 purposes but for funding terror activities.
In a sensational claim on Wednesday, the NIA alleged that some of the Kerala gold smuggling case accused might have links to Dawood Ibrahim’s D-company. During the bail plea hearing in Kochi’s NIA court, prosecutor Arjun Ambalapatta submitted that accused KT Rameez and Sharafuddeen had smuggled gold from Tanzania to the UAE and from there to India. He alleged that Rameez has links with Feroze Oasis, who allegedly handles the D-Company's affairs in Tanzania. As per sources, Oasis is believed to be a key member of the criminal syndicate and is fluent in Tamil, Arabic, English and Hindi.
Updated 15:55 IST, October 15th 2020