Thiruvananthapuram: The Customs Department has served a second notice to former Kerala CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan's wife Vinodhini to appear before it on March 23.
She failed to appear before the Department the first time she was summoned on March 10.
Vinodhini has been summoned by the Customs Department in connection with the now infamous missing iPhone, which was allegedly given by Santhosh Eapen, one of the beneficiaries in the controversial Life Mission flat project.
The Customs have traced the iPhone to Vinodhini, who was found to have used it till the infamous Kerala gold smuggling case surfaced in July 2020.
Balakrishnan had to step down from his position as state secretary last year after his younger son Bineesh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in Bengaluru.
Regarding his wife's case, Balakrishnan told the media on Friday: "She has not been given any notice. She does not even know Eapen. The IMEI number of that particular phone is in possession of Eapen only. We do not have any phone that has been gifted. We have the bills of our phones."
As per the graft case, Santhosh Eapen's firm was awarded the contract to build a residential project under the state government's Life Mission project at Wadakkancherry in Thrissur. It is suspected Swapna facilitated the contract by influencing her contacts in the government and even managed to obtain sponsorship for it from the UAE. However, the people involved in the deal had received kickbacks and costly gifts like the iPhone from the builder. The commission received by Swapna and her aides, including key personnel of the UAE Consulate, was converted into US dollars and smuggled abroad.
Trouble began after canards started that Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala was given one iPhone, but he came out sharply against the news and threatened legal action against those who were trying to malign him.
At that time, the owner of the most expensive iPhone could not be identified. But the Customs has now managed to locate its owner and it has been found that Vinodhini was using the iPhone worth Rs 1.13 lakh.
(With inputs from IANS)
