Thiruvananthapuram: A Kerala Police gunman associated with the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram was found with a slashed wrist after a suspected suicide bid on Friday. He had gone missing a day earlier soon after his links to one of the accused in the gold smuggling case linked to the Emirati diplomatic mission emerged.
The gunman, named Jayaghosh, was found injured near his house around Friday noon by a local resident. While being taken to the hospital, Jayaghosh told reporters that he had no role in the smuggling bid and he did not commit any crime.
Call records of Swapna Suresh, an accused in the case, revealed she had dialled Jayaghosh.
Jayaghosh was upset as colleagues taunted him over the gold smuggling case, police said. His kin said he was under immense stress over the recent developments.
He had reportedly left his home in Thiruvananthapuram at around 7pm on Thursday after receiving a phone call and didn't return. His wife had lodged a complaint at the Thumba police station stating he had mentioned he was being threatened.
He was found in a bushy area, 400 m from his house, close to the Akkulam Lake. Sniffer dog had reportedly ran toward this area as it was deployed on Friday morning. He was found conscious with a minor injury. He cried aloud as he was found, locals who found him stated.
The Kerala DGP has now ordered the police to provide security to Jayaghosh.
He had been working as a gunman of the UAE Consul General for the past three years. After the Consul General returned to UAE, Rashid Khamis Al-Shameli, an attaché with the Consulate, was in charge. Subsequently, Jayaghosh returned his service pistol to the Armed Reserve Camp in Thiruvananthapuram.
The baggage seized by the Indian Customs was addressed to Al-Shameli. As reported earlier he has left India.
The case
The smuggling bid came to light as the Customs seized 30 kg hidden gold in a diplomatic bag at the Trivandrum International Airport on July 5.
The probe into the case has been entrusted with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has already booked four people -- P S Sarith Kumar, Swapna Suresh (both former employees of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram), Sandeep Nair and Faisal Fareed -- under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Barring Fareed others have been arrested.
The Customs seizure was recorded on July 5, though the agency had held back the diplomatic bag that had arrived from Dubai in a chartered flight on June 30 itself on suspicion of smuggling.
Swapna, then consultant at the Space Park project under the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited, had reportedly called up the Assistant Commissioner of Customs claiming to be the secretary of the Consul General of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, and demanded the baggage be released.
The Customs then directed the consulate official to whom the baggage was addressed to come personally to collect it. When Customs refused to release it, former PRO of the consulate P S Sarith Kumar landed up at the air cargo office with a man in Arabian costumes and allegedly threatened the officials there. Sarith was arrested after the cargo was opened on July 5 and the gold being smuggled was found upon inspection.
As the case hit headlines, Swapna was sacked from the Space Park job and she fled the state along with Sandeep, who is suspected to be the keyman of the racket. The duo were later arrested from Bengaluru.
During the probe, it was revealed that 16 phone calls were made between Al-Shameli and Swapna on July 3. It was also found that Swapana had contacted Jayaghosh during these days.
