Kerala Police had registered a case against Swapna Suresh under sections 153 and 120B of the IPC.
Kochi:
Main accused of sensational gold smuggling in the diplomatic bag case Swapna Suresh and co-accused Sarit PS on Thursday moved the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail in the case registered by the police on a complaint by the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF). ) MLA’s complaint against him, the Chief Minister and his family alleging conspiracy behind his revelations.
Left MLA and former minister KT Jalil, in her complaint, has alleged conspiracy behind the latest charges leveled against herself, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family by the prime accused in the gold smuggling case.
Subsequently, the police registered a case against Swapna Suresh under sections 153 (abetment with intent to cause riot) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The joint plea of Swapna Suresh and Sarit PS states that only the former is an accused in the case and the offenses allegedly committed by him are bailable, but they believe that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is alleged to have taken him back. were out to force. Statement made under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Swapna Suresh had told media persons on Wednesday that she had disclosed the others allegedly involved in trafficking cases and their “degree of involvement” only in her statement under Section 164 of CrPC before the court.
He said that he gave the statement because there was danger to his life and if something happens to him or his family members, he might not have the courage to come forward and speak about the matter.
In the petition, Swapna Suresh also alleged that a person named Shaji Kiran had come to her office in Palakkad to settle the issue arising out of her statement.
The petition claimed that Shaji Kiran was introduced to Suresh by M Shivshankar, former principal secretary to the chief minister, in the past as a person very close to the chief minister and other Left leaders.
It also claimed that he pressured Suresh and Sarit to surrender before the CM and make a statement that the statement he made before the court was at the behest of his lawyers, RSS and BJP.
The petition further claimed that he also allegedly threatened her with dire consequences if she did not do as he had directed.
Hours after the petition was filed in the High Court, Shaji Kiran came on a television channel and claimed that Swapna Suresh was his friend and did not pressurize him to withdraw his 164 statements.
Shaji Kiran claimed that she was called by Swapna Suresh to her office on Wednesday and there she only asked why she made the revelations now and whether she knew the problems she would face as a result.
He categorically denied being sent there to settle the issue and said that even Swapna Suresh would not know that such things have been said in her petition.
In the anticipatory bail plea, Swapna Suresh also argued that sharing certain information with the media regarding her statement of section 164 made before the court would not qualify as an abetment to rioting, an offense on which He is accused.
She has also said that her 10-year-old son is alone at his residence in Palakkad and hence, if he is arrested and taken into custody for questioning, there will be no one to look after him.
“Therefore, it is extremely important to see in the interest of justice that the petitioners are not arrested illegally and are not detained in the name of interrogation as the intention is only to harass them and make them withdraw the statement given by the first petitioner. (Suresh) under section 164 of CrPC,” the petition said.
Following her disclosure to the media, Pinarayi Vijayan, after recording her statement in section 164, issued a statement dismissing Swapna Suresh’s claims and allegations as “baseless”.
Swapna Suresh, a former employee of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) consulate here, was detained by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) along with another accused Sandeep Nair from Bengaluru on July 11, 2020.
The NIA, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Customs officials conducted separate investigations to bust the racket with the seizure of gold worth Rs 15 crore from the diplomatic baggage of the UAE Consulate at Thiruvananthapuram airport on July 5, 2020.
Several people, including M Shivshankar and Sarit, another former employee of the UAE Consulate here, were arrested in connection with the case.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)