Kerala Gold case: Swapna Suresh adds 'unusual Biryani pots to CM home' claim; 'told court'

After making massive allegations in a statement in the courts, the key accused in the Gold Scam case, Swapna Suresh, elaborated on her points in an exclusive conversation with Republic on Tuesday. Speaking to Executive Editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy, Suresh highlighted how she was contacted by the Principal Secretary of Vijayan, Sivasankar, during his visit to Dubai in United Arab Emirates back in 2016. 

Underlining and recounting that Sivasankar had allegedly contacted them for assistance in getting a bag of the Chief Minister to Dubai that he had forgotten, the then-secretary at the consulate said, "One of the officers brought the bag to the consulate. There is in fact, a protocol that any bag from outside the consulate has to be scanned with a scanning machine. In doing so, they found that there was cash in that. But nothing happened... it was taken and handed over to somebody assigned by Sivasankar, who then delivered it to the Chief Minister." 

Suresh speaks of 'Biryani vessel of unusual weight' allegedly brought to CM's residence

The Kerala Gold Scam accused also elaborated on how they were allegedly told that a Biryani vessel delivered from the UAE Consul-General's residence to the CM's residence 'with unusual weight'. "So, Biryani being edible, food item has a minimum weight...but the vessels had unusual weight...Also, they were delivered without any security checks or protocol arrangements, upon the instructions- the time &  date fixed by Sivshankar."

Having said that, she reiterated that these statements have already been given to the investigating agencies, and there has been 'nothing different' said. 

What is the Kerala gold smuggling scam?

On 5 July 2020, 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 PS, who worked at the UAE Consulate, was apprehended in this regard. Subsequently, Swapna Suresh, an ex-Consulate employee working as the manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited and CM’s former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar were also arrested in this case. They are both now out on bail.