Swapna Suresh, the accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case, lambasted senior bureaucrat M Sivasankar on Friday for making false charges against her. Suresh, who was released on bail a few months ago after being imprisoned for her alleged involvement in the smuggling of gold through the diplomatic route, attacked former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar for stating in his book that she had deceived him.
They did not have a close connection, according to Sivasankar. Swapna, on the other hand, stated that they were close and that after taking voluntary retirement, he wanted to settle down in Dubai. “Sivasankar was a very important part of my life and there was personal intimacy between us. We had a very good wavelength” Swapna said in an interview with Republic Bharat.
This revelation comes while Sivasankar is releasing his autobiography, ‘Aswathamavu: Verum Oru Aana’ (Ashwathama is just an elephant).
Swapna has also claimed that Sivasankar was aware of what was inside the diplomatic luggage and that everything she did while on the run from police was on Sivasankar’s orders.
Swapna went on to say that Sivasankar was a daily visitor to her home and that they used to travel across states and to Dubai together. She further said that Sivasankar orchestrated the NIA’s involvement in the gold smuggling case in order to keep Swapna quiet.
Swapna stated that she had given other presents to Sivasankar throughout time and that he was exploiting her to clean up his reputation.
The 2020 gold smuggling case
On July 5, 2020, customs officials at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport found gold weighing over 30 kilograms and valued at almost Rs 15 crore. This gold was concealed in diplomatic baggage and sent to the UAE embassy via air freight.
After getting information that the suitcase was part of a smuggling network aiming to misappropriate the name of a diplomat with diplomatic immunity, customs authorities took action.
In this case, Swapna Suresh is the primary defendant. Swapna Suresh, a former employee of the UAE consulate, has been engaged by a private business to work on a project for the Kerala Information Technology Department, which is led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. M Sivasankar, the CM’s principal secretary, used to be in charge of this department.