Kerala Gold Scam: How the multi-crore case was busted

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The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left front government in Kerala has been stung by a high-profile, multi-crore gold smuggling case. This smuggling racket was busted at a time when the state is already in the middle of the coronavirus crisis. Kerala is set to go to the polls next year, and state Opposition has upped the ante against the ruling government. What makes matters worse for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is that his own principal secretary was allegedly involved in this gold smuggling case. The Opposition has said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) should question CM Pinarayi Vijayan and that he should resign taking moral responsibility for the acts of his principal secretary.

Here are the details of the current gold scam in Kerala.

The beginning

On July 5, 2020, around 30 kilograms of gold worth more than Rs 15 crore was seized from the air cargo addressed to the United Arab Emirates Consulate by the customs officers at Trivandrum International Airport. The custom officials reported the incident to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. It was said that the bags contained noodles, dates, and biscuits. It was also learned that the 30 kg smuggled gold was hidden inside baggage concealed in bathroom equipment and electronic devices.

Main accused: Swapna Suresh

She is the main accused in this case. A former staffer at the UAE consulate, Swapna Suresh was hired by a private firm to work on a project for Kerala IT department, which is under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The CM's principal secretary M Sivasankar used to head this department. Investigation so far has revealed that Swapna Suresh had contacts with powerful people in Kerala and made several calls to them in the run-up to the current case of gold smuggling.

Main accused: M Sivasankar

He was Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's principal secretary and headed the IT department under which Swapna Suresh was hired. Sivasankar has been suspended and sacked from his post after his name cropped up in the investigation. He was grilled by the Customs department for over nine hours.

Main accused: PS Sarith

A former PRO at the UAE consulate, Sarith is a prime accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case. He has been arrested by the Customs department and is currently in the NIA's custody.

Sandeep Nair: He is another key accused in this case and was arrested along with Swapna Suresh from Bengaluru. The NIA has been authorised to inspect his bags that were taken into custody from Bengaluru.

Investigation

The investigations, in this case, started on July 5 with the questioning of PS Sarith, a former employee of the UAE consulate, by Customs officials. The department then was also trying to get Swapna Suresh to join the probe. However, soon after the investigation started, Swapna Suresh absconded. She and Sandeep Nair, another accused, were later tracked down in Bengaluru and arrested. The NIA has secured seven-day custody of PS Sarith, who was earlier in the custody of the Customs department. Besides this, the NIA also suspects a terror link to this gold smuggling case and has already filed a case under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act). The NIA has booked four people - PS Sarith, Swapna Suresh, Sandeep Nair and Fazil Fareed, under UAPA. Barring Fareed, others have been arrested.

Swapna Suresh's past record

Besides the gold smuggling, Swapna Suresh has also been booked for providing fake certificates for getting a posting in a project under the state IT department, from which she has been removed after her name cropped up in the smuggling racket.

Opposition attacks state govt

As investigations into the Kerala gold smuggling case progress, revealing more names, the Congress and the BJP have sharpened their attacks on the state government. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has moved a no-confidence motion against the Pinarayi Vijayan government over the Kerala gold smuggling case. Congress MLA VD Satheesan has given a notice to the Speaker for this. The party has also demanded that Vijayan must be questioned by the NIA and he must resign taking moral responsibility of the acts of his principal secretary M Sivasankar.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) take on the matter

Meanwhile, the CPI(M) has alleged that the gold smuggling case in Kerala is being used by the BJP and the Congress-led UDF to destabilise the LDF government in the state and the issue is being used to target Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Past records of gold smuggling in Kerala

Gold smuggling is not new to Kerala. Last year more than 550 kg of smuggled gold was reportedly seized in the state, a national record.