BENGALURU: Following the complaint filed by Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case, the KR Puram police in Bengaluru have registered an FIR against Vijesh Pillai for allegedly offering her Rs 30 crore as a final settlement, and threatening to finish her if she didn’t comply.
The police have issued Pillai a notice, asking him to appear before the investigation officer for inquiry. The police said Pillai is booked for criminal intimidation based on Swapna’s complaint. The woman, a former employee at the UAE consulate in Kerala, alleged that Pillai had asked her to meet him at a luxury hotel on Whitefield Main Road on March 4, where he allegedly stated that he was sent by the party (CPI-M) secretary Govindan and offered Rs 30 crore as final settlement for not giving any statement against the Kerala chief minister and his family members.
“He asked me to take Rs 30 crore and leave the country in a week. He threatened me that he would place a bomb in my bag and get me booked in a fake case and also that he would kill me,” Swapna alleged in her complaint.
The police, who had initially registered the case as a non-cognisable report, took the court’s permission and registered an FIR under Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC against Pillai, on Monday. It is learnt that the police registered an FIR after visiting the hotel where the meeting purportedly took place and questioned the staff to find that Pillai had visited there on March 4.
The police have also verified the CCTV footage of the hotel recorded on the said date. Following the registration of the FIR, sources said a notice was issued to Pillai, asking him to appear for inquiry within six days. DCP of Whitefield Division, S Girish, said Swapna’s statement has been recorded.