Kochi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) team investigating the money laundering charges in connection with the gold smuggling through the diplomatic baggage channel, records key accused Swapna Suresh’s statement again on Wednesday. This is in the context of her confidential statement under Section 164 before the Magistrate.
The team started the interrogation at 11 am and stopped around 4 pm as Swapna had physical uneasiness after being questioned for 5 hours. The interrogation is to continue on Thursday.
Swapna had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a CBI probe and requesting to meet him in person, making serious allegations against the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Customs. Swapna accused the NIA and the Customs of ignoring her revelations, with evidence, about alleged anti-national activities.
Swapna had also alleged that former principal secretary M Sivasankar, an accused in the gold smuggling case, had behaved like an investigating officer within the NIA office premises. The NIA officers, including the Superintendent, stood before him like subordinates, she had alleged.
High Court to consider Swapna’s plea on June 28
The High Court is to consider the gold smuggling case key accused Swapna Suresh’s plea, seeking to quash the case registered against her by the Palakkad Kasaba Police following her fresh ‘revelations’ in the case, on June 28. It would be considered along with another plea on similar grounds on a case registered with the Thiruvananthapuram Cantonment Police station.
Swapna had disclosed that she had given a statement under Section 164 of Cr PC before the Magistrate alleging that the Chief Minister, his family, former Minister K T Jaleel, former Speaker Sreeramakrishnan, IAS officers Sivashankar and Nalini Neto are all involved in the case.
The second phase of interrogation would be crucial; ED to verify the credibility of her statements
New Delhi: The second phase of interrogations of Swapna Suresh, the key accused in the case of gold smuggling through the diplomatic baggage channel, would be crucial for the politicians and senior officers in the State alleged to be involved in the case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials stated that the team has to verify the credibility of Swapna’s later statements in the case of currency smuggling. The evidence collection, in this case, is possible as part of the investigation of the dollar smuggling charges, without registering a fresh case.
At present, the investigation team has the documents of Swapna’s statement to the Customs in the smuggling case, her confidential statement recorded by the Customs Court, the statement recorded by the ED in the money laundering case, and Swapna’s statement under section 164 Cr PC before the Magistrate. Any contradiction in the statements can be found only after comparing these documents. The parts of the recorded statements which seem similar in all would be particularly examined. In her fresh revelations, there is much information under the ambit of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The progress in the second phase of investigations depends on the evidence Swapna can hand over to corroborate her statements and those that the ED team can investigate and collect on its own.
Customs Preventive Commissioner Sumit Kumar, who had a key role in the investigation, said that there is nothing new in Swapna’s fresh revelations. Stating that all this information is part of the documents with the Court, he said, he has nothing to say regarding the new discussions in connection with the case.
