Chennithala cites ED submission to allege Kerala CMO's complicity in Gold Smuggling scam

As the special Kochi court extended the ED custody of Sivasankar, former principal secretary of the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the Kerala Gold smuggling scam, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday alleged that CMO is complicit in the Gold smuggling adding that the ED's submission proves it.

"It was from the CMO that calls were made to Customs to release the smuggled gold. (Chief Minister) Pinarayi Vijayan has been spreading lies. The Opposition and media had earlier pointed this out but the chief minister denied it. The CMO had an active role in gold smuggling and the ED submission proves it," the Congress leader said while addressing the media.

Chennithala alleged that Sivasankar and C M Raveendran, additional private secretary, were controlling the gold smuggling racket.

"The Kerala CMO leaked details of all development projects to (accused) Swapna Suresh and her team. Based on this, commissions were taken by Sivasankar and others, including the Life Mission project," he said.

He also slammed the CPIM led government for refusing the CBI investigation in the Life Missions scam alleging that the government fears of the chief minister's name will come in the scam.

"It is feared that Pinarayi Vijayan will be named by probe agencies, which is why the government opposed the CBI probe into the Life Mission scam. Now, the party and the CM are targeting investigation agencies and have called for open protests against the central agencies," Chennithala added.

Prime accused in the scam, Swapna Suresh has made a shocking revelation that the CMO was fully aware of the gold smuggling and other electronics items smuggled through the diplomatic channel. This confession was submitted in an affidavit by the ED to the Sessions court in Kochi.

According to Republic Media Network's report, Swapna Suresh was confronted by the ED on Tuesday with the WhatsApp chats between her and Sivasankar. After seeing the chats, she confessed that the CMO has played a big role in the crime. 

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What is the gold smuggling case?

On July 5, Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate. Sarith Kumar, who worked at the UAE Consulate and was arrested, told the Customs about the role of Swapna Suresh, an ex-Consulate employee working as the manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited. The NIA which took over the case on July 9 confiscated a bag containing documents of dubious financial dealings while arresting Suresh and Nair.

The case took a political turn after photos of Suresh with CM Pinarayi Vijayan surfaced allegedly attending several parties where he was present. Moreover, Principal Secretary to CM M Sivasankar has been replaced after his role in hiring Swapna Suresh and his contact with her came under probe and has been questioned several times by the ED. The opposition has unsuccessfully moved a no-confidence motion against the CM, demanding his resignation.

(With ANI inputs)

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