Gold smuggling case: Swapna Suresh accuses Kerala CM of 'harassing' her; Union Minister seeks Vijayan's resignation

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Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Kerala gold smuggling case took a new twist as accused Swapna Suresh alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is "harassing" her because she is trying to bring the truth out. Talking to media persons here on Thursday, she said, "Kerala CM, who is supposed to protect the public has put me to starvation now. He`s harassing me because I am trying to bring the truth out. He can`t just do things for his daughter. He has to consider all of us as daughters."

"The day before yesterday, Crime Branch interrogated me in the conspiracy case registered against me. Basically, it was harassment. The investigation team asked me to step down from HRDS INDIA and to drop my lawyer, Krishna Raj. This is a threat," ANI quoted her as saying. 

On July 5, 2020, 30 kilograms of 24-carat gold worth Rs 14.82 crores was seized by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs at Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic bag that was meant to be delivered to the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.  M Sivasankar, the principal secretary to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, was suspended and removed from the post after a preliminary inquiry confirmed that he had links with Swapna Suresh. 

Swapna Suresh vows to bring out the truth

Swapna Suresh slammed the probe officials of the Crime Branch of Kerala police, saying she will bring out the truth in all the things she has said against Veena Vijayan, the daughter of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. "Just the other day, I presented myself before the Crime Branch police probing the conspiracy case registered against me. They were saying that the 164(5) statement she recorded before a magistrate has no powers. They wanted me to see I change my present lawyer, then they wanted me to tell them the details that I have about the business dealings of Veena. They also wanted to know all the details that I gave in my statements under 164," Swapna told the media on Thursday.

"The Chief Minister has ensured I lost my job. The NGO I was working for has terminated me because the lady staff members working there are frequently being called by the police. I can understand their plight, so I decided to leave. So he (Vijayan) should be happy that I have no job and my income has stopped," IANS quoted Swapna.

"Let him do what he (Vijayan) can, I will bring out everything that has happened from 2016 to 2020. If I have life in me, everything will be brought to light. I will fight till my last breath for this. I have been harassed in the name of the conspiracy probe. The probe officials said I will be made an accused in the 770 cases registered in the case following the protests that took place after I made my revelation in June. Let them make me an accused, I will not go back as I have everything to prove what I have said. They also wanted me to tell them where I have kept all the documents," she further added,

Notably, things have gone from bad to worse for CM Vijayan ever since Swapna made a confession to the magistrate in the first week of June, wherein, she alleged that the Kerala CM, his wife and Veena indulged in smuggling of currency and gold through the diplomatic channel. Since then, the Congress-led UDF and the BJP went hammer and tongs against Vijayan and demanded his resignation.

The CPI-M, meanwhile, has decided to hold state-wide meetings and vehicle rallies to point out that CM Vijayan`s hands are clean and these are all baseless allegations made by an accused in the gold smuggling case.

Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje seeks Kerala CM's resignation

Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje attacked the CPI(M)-led government in Kerala over the controversial gold smuggling case and demanded Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to step down from his post and face investigation while addressing the media in Pathanamthitta on Thursday. 

Saying that it was for the first time in history that allegations have been raised against a chief minister and his family, Karandlaje said, "For a comprehensive probe to be carried out in the gold smuggling case, the Chief Minister has to resign."

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare further said that key accused Swapna Suresh's statement indicates the role of the CM and his family in the case. Hence, the probe must also extend to his family members.

Suresh, a former employee of the UAE Consulate here, was taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) along with another accused Sandeep Nair from Bengaluru on July 11, 2020. The NIA, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Customs conducted separate probes into the racket that was busted with the seizure of gold worth Rs 15 crore from the diplomatic baggage of the UAE Consulate at Thiruvananthapuram airport on July 5, 2020.

(With Inputs from Agencies)