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Was offered hefty sum to settle the case, says Suresh

Main accused in Kerala gold smuggling and Life Mission cases Swapna Suresh on Thursday alleged that an emissary who took the name of CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan approached her recently in Bengaluru with an offer of 30 crore to hand over all details regarding chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family members and settle the case forever

Updated on: Mar 10, 2023, 01:49:10 IST
By , Thiruvananthapuram
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Main accused in Kerala gold smuggling and Life Mission cases Swapna Suresh on Thursday alleged that an emissary who took the name of CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan approached her recently in Bengaluru with an offer of 30 crore to hand over all details regarding chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family members and settle the case forever.

Kerala gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh (PTI)
Kerala gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh (PTI)

She made the fresh charges through a live session on Facebook from Bengaluru. Later, she released the photos and details of the meeting held in a hotel in Whitefield in Bengaluru. She said she filed a complaint with the Karnataka police alleging threat to her life. She said a person who later identified as Vijesh Pillai called her in the guise of an interview.

“It happened five days back. After initial talks he started mentioning about the ongoing cases. He took the name of M V Govindan, CPI(M) state secretary. It was basically a settlement talk followed by a threat,” she said adding after handing over all details she was promised a flat either in Jaipur or Haryana. She also said after clearing the dust a duplicate passport will be made available to her and she can slip out to the UK, Malaysia or some other country.

“He wants me to hand over all details regarding the CM, his wife, daughter, son and additional private secretary C M Raveendran. If I refuse, he said my life will be in danger. It was a clear case of death threat and he gave me one week to respond,” she said adding she formally filed a complaint and informed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) about the latest development. She also said she sought police protection in Bengaluru.

“I am not ready to compromise. This is not just a fight for me. I will fight it till my last breath,” she made a personal appeal to CM Vijayan to not resort to “such tactics.” She said she was not ready for any settlement and will hand over all details to investigating agencies. When asked about this, M V Govindan said he will react only on Friday after hearing what she said. He was in Idukki as part of a state-wide yatra against the Union government. BJP state president K Surendran termed her allegations “serious and sought a reply from the CPI(M) state secretary”.

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