Palakkad: Kerala politics has been rocked by the disclosures of Swapna Suresh who is a key accused in the sensational 2020 case on gold smuggling allegedly carried out through diplomatic baggage.
The contents of the much-awaited audio tapes with record of her conversation with her friend and former mediaperson Shaj Kiran have unsettled the ruling establishment and particularly the Communist Party of India (Marxist) which is heading the State Government.
A salvo fired by Shaj in his one-and-a-half hour-long conversation fell on Chief Minister Pinarayi and CPM State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
Shaj said in his conversation that Pinarayi and Kodiyeri were engaged in sending money to the United States in an illicit manner and they were using Believers' Church as a cover for running these operations.
Apart from the two audio tapes in which Shaj spoke to Swapna, she also released two other audio tapes on Friday evening in which Shaj and his friend Ibrahim were speaking to both Swapna and her associate Sarith.
Swapna later told reporters that the "number one" which Shaj was mentioning in his conversation was none other than the Chief Minister. Shaj had said in his telephone conversation that the "number one" was angry after hearing the latest allegations.
In the phone conversation, Shaj was heard telling Swapna that it was foolishness that she spoke to the media after giving a secret statement under Section 164. He then promised Swapna that he would help her get out of this crisis, using the service of some middlemen.
When Shaj was speaking to Swapna, he was heard responding to another phone call by saying "Sir". That conversation was about the handing over of a phone. Swapna was then heard asking him who had called him. But Shaj did not respond. But at one place, he was saying, "Ajith Sir, DIG".
Church threatens legal action
Meanwhile, the Believers' Church spokesman said that the comments purportedly made by Shaj in the audio tape about the church were baseless. He said the Church would take legal action against him for these utterances.
Shaj's audio clip awaited
Shaj Kiran, however, alleged that the audio clip released by Swapna was an edited one and said he would release the full version on Saturday. He reiterated that he had no acquaintance with the Chief Minister and he did not hold talks with Swapna on behalf of anyone.
He said his comments on the financial dealings of Pinarayi Vijayan and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan were said in another context. He clarified that such a statement was based on reports that appeared in the online media.
The gold smuggling case
It was in mid-2020 that the Customs busted a smuggling racket linked to the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. The probe revealed that consular staff were hand in glove with gold smugglers in Kerala and the Middle East. They used the diplomatic baggage to carry out smuggling. Money laundering also was likely attempted by the well-entrenched syndicate that enjoyed political and bureaucratic patronage.