Kerala HC to consider Swapna's bail application Tuesday

Kochi: The anticipatory bail application of Swapna Suresh, one of the main accused in the sensational gold smuggling case, will be considered on Tuesday (July 14), the Kerala High Court informed on Friday.

Swapna Suresh has been on the run since being sacked from contractual service in the state IT department after her name cropped up in the smuggling case.

The court rescheduled the hearing as the case required an extensive hearing.

The case is still in its preliminary stage. Granting bail to the accused at this juncture is not advisable, an NIA advocate informed the court.

Swapna's advocate too had requested the court to postpone the hearing. He has also requested a copy of the FIR registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the case.

Gold weighing over 30 kg was seized from a baggage, bearing the name of a UAE diplomat, as it landed by air cargo at the Trivandrum International Airport recently.

The woman, a former employee of the UAE Consulate, and her alleged accomplice Sandeep are absconding even as an audio clip in which she purportedly claims innocence surfaced the other day.

In a related legal development, R Sarith Kumar, another former employee of the the consulate, who has been already arrested in the case, was produced before the economic offences court in Kochi and sent to the customs department custody for further probe.

Sandeep's wife Soumya had testified that Swapna, Sarith and her husband were part of the gold smuggling racket. In this context, the investigation can proceed only if Swapna is questioned, the Customs department has said.

The state government has removed senior IAS officer M Sivasankar, who was the secretary to the Chief Minister and the IT Principal secretary, following allegations that he had close links with Swapna. The official has gone on a year's leave.

Meanwhile, various television channels aired a voice clip in which the wanted woman purportedly claimed she had no role in the smuggling case.

The woman is heard saying that her only involvement in the incident was that she had called a person in the diplomatic cargo section and asked him to clear the cargo.

She claimed the developments in the past few days had brought her family on the verge of suicide. "I know all political leaders and I have only an official relationship with them" and had invited them for various functions, she said adding she had no connection with the smuggling case.

The audio clip surfaced on a day when the Kochi customs wrote to state police chief Loknath Behera seeking certain CCTV visuals of the airport, police sources said. The DGP has directed the Police Commissioner and IG-Traffic to hand over the footage to the Customs, they added.