Published 18:50 IST, July 8th 2020
Who is Swapna Suresh?: All you need to know about Kerala Gold Scandal's prime accused
The gold smuggling racket busted at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport took a new turn after the role of Swapna Suresh, UAE Consulate's ex-employee came to light
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The gold smuggling racket busted at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport took a new turn after the key role of Swapna Suresh, an ex-employee of the UAE Consulate came to light. Working as an operations manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited, she was perceived to have close links with the Kerala Chief Minister's Office. While she was sacked after the political uproar following her alleged involvement in the gold smuggling racket, the police have failed to arrest her so far.
Who is Swapna Suresh?
Swapna Suresh's family was based in Abu Dhabi for many years as her father, a Thiruvananthapuram native was employed there. Having spent her early years in Abu Dhabi, she had a brief stint with the passenger services department at Abu Dhabi Airport. Suresh moved to Kerala in 2010/11 where she worked in a travel agency for two years.
Thereafter, she secured a job at Air India SATS, a ground-handling agency at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport in 2013. This tenure witnessed controversies such as the ouster of some Air India SATS and Air India officials on sexual harassment charges. She had to quit her job after the Crime Branch registered an FIR against her for forging documents for a fake complaint on the directives of the High Court. When she did not turn up for the interrogation and returned to Abu Dhabi in around 2016, there was speculation that she had political connections.
The stint at UAE Consulate
Intriguingly, she joined the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram soon after her airport job. This stint proved to be the turning point for her as she got access to political and bureaucratic circles in the state. As she is fluent in Arabic and several other languages, she was a part of teams of Arab leaders who visited Kerala.
During this period, she started receiving a flurry of visitors such as representatives of travel agencies. As per reports, Swapna Suresh's husband allegedly assaulted the security guard deployed by the housing society to control and regulate the flow of visitors. She was sacked from the job in 2019. Thereafter, she was hired by the Kerala IT Department with the help of a manpower supply agency. However, it is alleged that IT Secretary M Sivasankar played a key role in her appointment.
18:22 IST, July 8th 2020