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10 accused in Kerala gold smuggling case get bail
The NIA the court said the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act cannot be imposed on all accused and some of them were eligible for bail as they have completed 90 days in jail.
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Kochi on Thursday granted bail to 10 accused in the Kerala gold smuggling but two of the main accused -Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair – will remain in jail.
The multi-agency probe headed by the NIA had arrested 30 people in connection with the smuggling of 30 kg gold from a diplomatic consignment for the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Customs department which had seized the gold on July 5, had earlier invoked Cofeopsa (Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act) against Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair to prevent their bail. An accused charged with Cofeposa can be kept in preventive custody up to a year. Cofeposa is usually invoked on habitual offenders who pose a threat to the country’s economy.
The accused moved the court saying they were under custody for more than three months and they committed only an economic offence. But the NIA opposed their plea saying the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act was invoked against them. But the court said UAPA cannot be imposed on all accused and some of them were eligible for bail as they have completed 90 days in jail.
Also read: Gold smuggling case suspect claims ‘vested interests’ seek his arrest, gets reprieve
While opposing the bail plea on Wednesday, the NIA had told the court that it suspected that some of the accused were in touch with the gang of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and they visited Tanzania several times where the he has a strong network.
In Delhi, minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan citied the NIA’s contention of a D Company link to the smuggling case and sought the resignation of Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
“We want the CM to resign as everything happened right under his nose. His secretary was helping some of the accused. The main accused even said she visited the CM’s official residence several times. When his office is under investigation how can he continue in his office?” he asked.
