Thiruvananthapuram: One more accused in the diplomatic channel gold smuggling case has stated that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had put pressure on him to implicate Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and two other leaders in the case.
Accused Sandeep Nair made the statement while deposing before the Crime Branch at the Central Prison at Poojappura here on Friday.
Nair reportedly told a team led by Crime Branch Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) that ED officials had put pressure on him while he was in their custody and later in jail. The Crime Branch DySP has now completed questioning the accused.
The Crime Branch has registered two cases against ED, and the State agency has primarily been probing the move to implicate Vijayan in the case.
It is learnt that the Crime Branch sleuths questioned Nair, now in ED remand in the smuggling case, without the knowledge of the central agency.
The Crime Branch questioned Nair even as it is locked in a legal battle with ED, which has requested the High Court to quash the case against it.
