T P Nandakumar, a seasoned journalist-cum-whistle-blower in Kerala, has demanded a Supreme Court monitored investigation into the infamous gold smuggling scam in which M Sivsankar, the then principal secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and some of his associates were arrested.
“The probe into the gold smuggling scam was sabotaged with the connivance of a union minister of State and a BJP leader from Kerala. A Supreme Court monitored probe alone would bring to light the truth,” said Nandakumar.
Nandakumar was arrested by the Kerala Police and was in jail for 37 days on a complaint filed by one of his employees under charges of SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989 and sexual assault. The Kerala High Court which heard his bail application, said the police failed to furnish any incriminating documents other than the statement by the victim to substantiate their demand that the accused should not be given bail.
The arrests of two other public personalities by the Kerala Police and their subsequent release on bail too have come as a setback to the State Government which is facing charges of foisting fabricated cases against political rivals. The first to be arrested was veteran legislator P C George of the Kerala Congress under charges of disrupting communal harmony in the State. He was released on bail within hours of his arrest. The next to be targeted was KS Sabarinathan, Congress leader and former MLA under charges of conspiring to murder Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Sabarinathan was arrested last Tuesday within minutes of Vijayan himself alleging in the assembly that the former had played a crucial role in “imperilling” his safety while he was on a flight from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram on June 13. The former MLA was released on conditional bail on the same day.
Nandakumar has been an eyesore to Vijayan since the latter’s days as minister of power in the EK Nayanar headed Government (1996-2001). It was Nandakumar who brought out the infamous SNC Lavlin case which is still under the consideration of the Supreme Court.
Nandakumar had in his YouTube videos had alleged that Vijayan, his wife Kamala and daughter Veena had direct links with the smuggling of gold through diplomatic channel in Thiruvananthapuram international airport. The case probed by the National Investigation Agency and the Customs Department saw the arrests of Sivsankar, Swapna Suresh, the liaison officer of the Space Park of the Kerala Government and two of her associates. The non-cooperation by the Kerala Government and subversion activities of Customs officials belonging to the CPI(M) too caused the derailment of the probe, said Nandakumar.
“A union minister and senior BJP leader hailing from Kerala are hand in glove with Pinarayi Vijayan in sabotaging the gold smuggling investigation. Though the CPI(M) and the BJP do not have any alliance outwardly, leaders of both the parties in Kerala help each other and more details would come out in days to come,” said Nandakumar. The journalist also charged that the chief minister, union minister, the Kerala BJP leader and a business baron based in UAE are working together to amass wealth and weaken the Indian National Congress in the State.