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Kerala gold smuggling case: ED summons Swapna Suresh after allegations against M Sivasankar
The Kerala gold smuggling case is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, National Investigative Agency (NIA) and the customs department.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Swapna Suresh, the main accused in the gold smuggling case, to appear before it. She has been summoned along with the documents at ED’s Kochi office at 11am.
The summons come after Swapna Suresh made allegations against senior IAS officer and chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s former principal secretary M Sivasankar. In an interview, Suresh claimed that Sivasankar was “aware of her activities” and “he helped her in many ways including getting out of the state after the seizure of yellow metal”.
She also said that Sivasankar was behind the audio clip from jail in which she was forced to say that central agencies want her to name Vijayan.
Swapna Suresh opened up after excerpts of Sivasankar's autobiography surfaced in which he blamed her for trapping him.
A senior official close to the government had told Hindustan Times that disciplinary action will be initiated against the IAS officer again to get out of the mess. Under suspension for more than 18 months, Sivasankar, once touted as the blue-eyed boy of the chief minister, was taken back in service last month.
The government feels that Sivasankar unnecessarily raked up the issue and he did not even take permission to write his autobiography titled ‘Aswathamavu: Verum Oru Aana’ (Aswarthamavu is only an elephant) that is scheduled to hit stands next week.
The Kerala government also feels that he has given an opportunity to central agencies to corner the government again.
The Kerala gold smuggling case pertains to the smuggling of gold in the state through diplomatic channels. It had come to light after 30 kg gold worth ₹14.82 crore smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by the customs department in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5, 2019.
She was arrested in July, 2002, and after spending 16 months behind bars, Swapna Suresh was released from jail in November last year.
Sivasankar was arrested on October 28, 2020, and was released on bail on February 4, last year.
The case is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, National Investigative Agency (NIA) and the customs department.
