Thiruvananthapuram: The chief of prisons has instructed that the permission or presence of Customs officials is not needed to allow visitors for the accused in the gold smuggling case charged under COFEPOSA (Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act).
Following this direction, the Customs officer who had gone to the jail with Swapna Suresh's relatives on Wednesday was sent back. Swapna is lodged in the Attakulangara jail and is charged under COFEPOSA for allegedly smuggling foreign currencies outside India. She is also an accused in the gold smuggling case.
Till now, COFEPOSA accused in jail were allowed visitors only once a week after the Customs Department was informed about it in advance. However, the Act enacted by the state government in 1975 does not require the permission or presence of investigative agencies. Therefore, meetings for such accused could be allowed as per the prison rules, according to the prisons department.
The prison department is of the view that if there is such a provision that demands the presence of investigating agencies or their officials, then the Customs should produce the necessary documents to prove it.
The Customs Department has complained that the jail department's move will sabotage the gold smuggling case. The High Court will be informed about this.
There has been a friction between the prison department and the central agencies ever since an audio recording purportedly of Swapna Suresh came out in which she is heard complaining about pressure to name high-profile people in the gold smuggling case.
Customs officials are being barred from visiting the jail following an order from the prisons chief that investigative agencies should bring video recording equipment if they wanted to question the accused in jail.
