Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Kerala’s gold smuggling case took a new turn as accused Swapna Suresh alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is “harassing” her as she tries to uncover the truth. Speaking to media persons here on Thursday, he said, “The Kerala CM, who is supposed to protect the public, has made me starve to death now. He is troubling me as I am trying to bring out the truth.” I am doing it. He can’t do that. Things for his daughter. He has to treat all of us as daughters.”
“A day before yesterday, the crime branch questioned me in the conspiracy case registered against me. Basically, it was harassment. The investigation team asked me to withdraw from HRDS India and release my lawyer Krishna Raj. This one There is danger,” ANI quoted him as saying.
On July 5, 2020, 30 kg of 24-karat gold worth Rs 14.82 crore was seized from a diplomatic bag by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs at the Thiruvananthapuram airport, which was to be delivered to the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. . M Sivashankar, principal secretary to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, was suspended and removed from the post after a preliminary inquiry confirmed that he had an affair with Swapna Suresh.
Swapna Suresh vows to bring out the truth
Swapna Suresh slammed the investigating officers of the Crime Branch of Kerala Police, saying she would bring out the truth in everything she said against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena Vijayan. “Just that day, I presented myself before the crime branch police probing the conspiracy case registered against me. They were saying that the statement of 164 (5) recorded before a magistrate had no authority. They wanted were that I should change my present. Lawyers, so they wanted me to give them the details which I have about Veena’s business dealings. They also wanted to know all the details which I had given in my statements under 164, Swapna told the media on Thursday.
Read also: Kerala CM seeks Sharjah ruler’s help for daughter’s IT business, alleges Swapna Suresh
“The chief minister has ensured that I lose my job. The NGO I was working for dismissed me because the female staff members working there are often called by the police. I can understand their plight So I decided to leave. So he (Vijayan) should be happy that I don’t have any job and my income has stopped,” IANS quoted Swapna as saying.
He said, “Let him (Vijayan) do what he can, I will bring forth whatever happened from 2016 to 2020. If I have life, everything will come to light. I will give my last for this.” I will fight till my breath. I have been harassed in the name of investigating the conspiracy. I will be made an accused in 770 cases registered in the case after the protests after my disclosure in June, the investigating officers said. Let them make me an accused “I won’t go back because I have everything to prove what I said. They also wanted me to tell them where I kept all the documents.”
Notably, things have gone from bad to worse for CM Vijayan ever since Swapna made a confession before a magistrate in the first week of June, alleging that the Kerala CM, his wife and Veena had They were involved in smuggling of currency and gold through the medium. Diplomatic Channel. Since then, the Congress-led UDF and the BJP have lashed out against Vijayan and demanded his resignation.
Read also: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan refutes allegations of involvement of main accused Swapna Suresh
Meanwhile, the CPI-M has decided to hold statewide meetings and vehicle rallies to point out that CM Vijayan has clean hands and all these are baseless allegations leveled by an accused in the gold smuggling case.
Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje seeks resignation of Kerala Chief Minister
Union minister Shobha Karandlaje attacked the CPI(M)-led government in Kerala over the controversial gold smuggling case and asked Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to step down and face probe while addressing the media in Pathanamthitta on Thursday.
Stating that for the first time in history charges have been leveled against a chief minister and his family, Karandlaje said, “The chief minister will have to resign for a comprehensive probe into the gold smuggling case.”
The Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare further said that the statement of the main accused Swapna Suresh shows the role of the CM and his family in this case. Hence, the investigation should be extended to his family members as well.
Suresh, a former employee of the UAE Consulate here, was detained by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) along with another accused Sandeep Nair from Bengaluru on July 11, 2020. The NIA, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Customs took separate actions. The racket 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)