Chennai: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Swapna Suresh, prime accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case, after nearly 16 months.
Meanwhile, the high court also granted bail to seven other accused – Sarit PS, Mohammed Shafi P, Jalal AM, Rabins Hameed, Ramis KT, Sharafuddin KT and Mohammad Ali – in the case registered by the NIA on their appeal.
Kerala gold smuggling case The Kerala High Court granted bail to Swapna Suresh, the main accused in the case registered by the NIA under the UAPA. He was granted bail on a surety bond of Rs 25 lakh and 2 solvent sureties. pic.twitter.com/dslNMH5ozw
— ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2021
However, Rabins Hameed, Mohd Shafi P and Ramis KT will remain in jail until their Foreign Exchange Protection and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA) Act expires. According to a report others will be released from jail.
Meanwhile, since she has to furnish certain sureties and bail in this case and some other cases, it is unlikely that she will be able to come out of jail later in the day. His lawyer said that the court has given him a clean chit in the NIA case in the terrorism case.
The case of smuggling came to light on July 5, 2020, when Customs arrested Sarit, a former employee of the UAE Consulate in Kochi, for smuggling gold in diplomatic baggage destined for the consulate.
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Swapna Suresh, who previously worked in the UAE consulate, and her associate Sandeep Nair were arrested a few days later by the NIA from Bengaluru in the case.
When strict travel restrictions were imposed last year to check the spread of coronavirus, both Swapna Suresh and Nair managed to fly from Kochi to Bengaluru, from where they were arrested by an NIA team a few days later. Eyebrows were raised at the time as to how they managed inter-state travel.
Meanwhile, Swapna’s mother expressed happiness that her daughter has finally got bail.
“At this time, I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported us and also to those who made fun of us. Every week I used to visit him in prison and I would return heartbroken. A mother As in, shall I say that my daughter is innocent and she will prove her innocence. She used to say that she was trapped but never said who were the people who framed her. However, once she came out If she goes, I myself will bring her in front of the media,” her mother said.
(With input from agencies)
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