Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case.  |  Photo Credit: ANI
Thiruvananthapuram: A political row has erupted in Kerala after Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case, alleged that she was exploited and manipulated by M Sivasankar, former principal secretary of CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
Swapna Suresh was released from jail in November last year on bail after spending almost 16 months behind bars.
“It is not absconding according to me, I was clearly instructed by Sivasankar that unless and until I receive a written summon from the authority, I may not have to a female appear for the customs authorities. And before appearing, it is better that I seek anticipatory bail,” she told ANI.
Adding, “As per his instruction, Sandeep and my husband’s instruction, I followed them blindly and I went in for anticipatory bail and I landed up in Bangalore. And it became absconding. I was exploited and manipulated.”
She leveled the allegations against the ex-principal secretary after Sivasankar in his upcoming autobiography “Aswathamavu: Verum Oru Aana” claimed that Swapna had trapped him by gifting him an iPhone. However, that proved to be a major proof against him later on.
The case pertains to the smuggling of gold in Kerala through diplomatic channels. This came to light when around 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crore smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by the customs department in Thiruvananthapuram in July 2019.
However, Swapna denied any personal links with the Kerala CM. “I don’t have any personal relationship with CM. Any relationship I had was purely professional and the point of contact was always Shivashankar. Don’t have personal connections with his family members,” she said.