The revelation made by Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the gold smuggling case against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has created a major stir in the state.
If two-time Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had to face the brunt of the revelations made by solar scam accused Saritha Nair which the Left encashed politically, then Vijayan too could face a similar backlash and opponents have started gearing for this.
On Tuesday, Swapna alleged that Vijayan, his wife and their daughter had a role in the smuggling of currency and “biryani vessels used to reach their official residence from the home of the UAE Consular General which contained metal-like objects”.
This explosive revelation came a few days after the Vijayan-led Left lost the Thrikkakara bypoll.
The opposition — Congress and the BJP — are demanding his resignation and have announced a series of protests against him. However, the entire Left allies, including the CPI-M have strongly backed Vijayan and have come out with statements that all this allegations have been dismissed by the people who gave him a resounding win for his second term in office on April 2021 Assembly polls.
But, despite all the support that has come his way, Vijayan appears jittery. When he came to attend a function organised by the National Service Scheme his body language could not hide his unease and after giving away a few prizes, he left the venue.
Meanwhile, the police have registered a case against Swapna Suresh and seven-time former legislator P.C. George is under charges of conspiracy to incite trouble by airing baseless allegations.
And on Wednesday, the Vigilance Police also played their role after they picked up a close aide of Swapna, P.S. Sarith, who is also an accused in the gold smuggling case.
The Vigilance police barged into his house and forcefully took him away. Later he was released and asked to appear before them in the state capital office on June 16.
On Thursday, according to sources, the police is forming a special team to probe the conspiracy case which will be headed by a top official. The team will also probe another case where Swapna Suresh has been charged with forging certificates, which was lying in the cold storage.
Popular media critic A.Jayasankar said it’s hilarious to see the way the police are going forward in the conspiracy case as it does not have any merit.
Meanwhile, on Thursday morning Swapna Suresh approached the Kerala High Court and filed an anticipatory bail plea stating that the police was hunting her and she fears the police might arrest her in the conspiracy case also filed by former State Minister and CPI-M supported independent legislator K.T. Jaleel.
(The story has been published via a syndicated feed.)
