The CPI-M in Kerala issued a stern warning to the media in the State against publishing the statements made by Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the infamous “gold smuggling through diplomatic channel” scam that rocked the State in 2020-2021.
On Wednesday, Swapna had called on a magistrate in Ernakulam and gave a statement under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The section deals with recording of any confession or statement made to a judicial magistrate in course of an investigation or at anytime afterwards before commencement of an inquiry or trial.
Speaking to reporters at Kochi after recording her statement Swapna had said that she was asked by M Sivsankar, the then principal secretary to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, to send a suitcase packed with currency notes kept in latter’s official residence at capital city by diplomatic route to UAE. “The chief minister and his wife Kamala were at UAE as part of an official visit.
Sivsankar had told me that the chief minister had forgotten to take the particular baggage with him and I was asked to send same through diplomatic route,” Swapna had said.
She also alleged that Veena, daughter of Vijayan, whose new husband Mohammed Riyaz is a minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan’s cabinet, C M Raveendran, the then private secretary to chief minister, K T Jaleel, the former chief of the outlawed SIMI who was a minister in previous Pinarayi ministry (2016-21) had various business interests in the West Asian oil kingdom.
According to Swapna, the disclosures made by her could be proved by details of entries made at reception of Cliff House, the chief minister’s high security bungalow and vehicular movements of UAE consulate. Swapna was liaison officer of UAE consulate at Thiruvananthapuram during period.