Kochi: The brother of the main accused in the gold smuggling case that has stunned Kerala over its likely links to politicians and officialdom has made a few disclosures about his estranged sister and their family.
Swapna Suresh had threatened to cut off my hands and legs during an argument over family's wealth, her brother Bright Suresh alleged. He made the revelation while talking to Manorama News from the United States.
Swapna Suresh has been on the run ever since 30 kg gold worth Rs 13.5 crore was seized from a diplomatic baggage at the Trivandrum International Airport on Sunday.
Investigators say Swapna, a former employee of the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, used forged documents to smuggle gold through the diplomatic channel.
Bright said the two never interfered in each other's personal matters.
"I never staked any claim to the family's assets. I have not seen Swapna for years and was not aware she had ties with smuggling rackets," he stated.
However, he said he knew that Swapna had good influence in high places.
The current developments are shocking, he said. "I have no words to say."
Even as the probe unearthed a few discrepancies in her stated educational qualifications, Bright too suspected her claims in this regard.
"I don't know if she has passed class X or if she has obtained higher education," Bright said.
Early overseas life
Throwing more light on the family, Bright added Swapna and he were born and raised in Abu Dhabi. He is the eldest. The youngest sibling is a brother, Brown Suresh.
Bright said he moved to the US at the age of 17 and completed his studies. He now works in a telecom company. He did not return to Abu Dhabi for a very long time.
The family was in a good financial position in Abu Dhabi. His father, Sukumaran Suresh, worked with a member of the royal family for a long time. Later, he opened a tyre shop and did many other businesses, Bright claimed.
He said Brown is in India and the two brothers keep in touch. Even Brown has never raised any claim to the family's assets. They are his father's earnings. I never expressed any opinion on the family's property, he added.
Tense last two meets
Bright last saw Swapna in 2015 when he had visited Abu Dhabi after 22 years to see his ailing father. He said he had made the trip at his mother's request. But Swapna did not like that. She had believed that he would never return to Abu Dhabi.
He said he is not sure if Swapna knew that he had visited Abu Dhabi at his mother's insistence.
After his father was weighed down by illness and debt, he found it very difficult to get him to Kerala, Bright added. He had to spend a lot of money to bring his father to Kerala and Swapna offered no help. But she took care of him after he was shifted to Kerala, Bright said.
Last year, when he came to Kerala with his family, he stayed with his relatives. He visited only for a few days and met his mother.
Swapna thought he had come to claim his share in the family's property and threatened him. She said she would chop off his hands and legs and that he would be forced to beg if he did not return to the US, he said.
He then called his father's brother Shailesh Kumar, who took him from there, Bright added. He spent the next two days with his mother's brother Chandrababu, who took him to the airport.
Bright said he feared for his family's safety and that is why he stayed away from her. Despite her threats, he said he returned to the US without complaining to the police.
He said he would call his mother once in a while and enquire about his father's health. He was neither interested in talking to Swapna nor keen on the kind of activities she indulged in, Bright concluded.
Their father passed away on April 20.
