KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the security angle in the gold smuggling case, has received ample indications that the actions of the suspects were serious enough to threaten the country’s economic security.
Sources in the NIA said there is sufficient material to prove the involvement of Swapna Suresh — the second suspect in the case — who misused diplomatic immunity to carry out the illegal activity. The agency sleuths had earlier submitted that they have to look into the terror angle behind the gold smuggling.
As per a report submitted by the NIA before the Special Additional Sessions Court (for NIA and CBI cases) here, a copy of which is with TNIE, the agency submitted that it had collected material to show that Swapna and fellow suspect Sandeep Nair had acted with an intention to threaten the economic security of India.The evidence will be submitted before the court on Monday.
In the application seeking custody of the accused for 10 days, NIA stated that further evidence has to be collected in this case. Detailed investigation is required to detect the gold and money trail, and unearth the larger conspiracy in the case. Swapna and Sandeep, who were on the run for nearly a week, landed in NIA net on Saturday.
Amid protests raised by Opposition parties and their youth wings, the NIA sleuths took the two, who were detained in Bengaluru on Saturday, to the special court here. The court remanded the accused to judicial custody and asked the NIA to produce the accused on Monday. Swapna and Sandeep were shifted to the Covid-19 firstline treatment centres in Thrissur and Karukutty (Angamaly) respectively.
The NIA has filed an application before Special Judge P Krishnakumar seeking a 10-day custody of the accused for further interrogation. The court will consider the application on Monday as they have tested negative for Covid-19.A large posse of police personnel under ACP K Laljy was deployed on the court premises ahead of the duo’s arrival at the court.
Earlier, the NIA sleuths took the accused to the District Government Hospital in Aluva by 12.50pm for medical examination and collection of swab samples. The special court at Kaloor witnessed dramatic scenes when a section of Youth Congress and Yuva Morcha activists staged a protest and waved black flags at the accused when the NIA sleuths took them to the court premises around 4pm. A minor scuffle between the protesters and police occurred after the latter resorted to lathi charge to disperse the protesters who breached the police barricade. Youth Congress leaders Abin Varkey, Linto P Anto and Vysakh Darsan sustained injuries in the lathicharge. Earlier, protests were also held in front of NIA office at Kadavanthra where the accused were taken to.
Flat tyre
The journey of the NIA team was delayed after they entered the Kerala border on Sunday morning after one of the vehicles had a flat tyre at Wadakkanchery. The team took the accused in another vehicle and resumed the journey.
Passports, Rs 2.5 lakh seized from duo
Swapna reached Bengaluru along with her husband and two children. First they stayed at a hotel in BTM Layout and later moved to the Octave hotel in Koramangala. Following a tip-off, the NIA team raided the hotel and detained Swapna. During the raid, Swapna and Sandeep were in one room along with her son while her daughter was in another room. Her husband had gone out to buy something. Their passports, three mobile phones, a sum of `2.5 lakh and identity cards were seized. Additional SP Shaukat Ali and Chief Investigation Officer Radhakrishnan had reached Bengaluru on Saturday to bring them to Kochi, sources said.
DRAMATIC SCENES
Customs arrests gold collector Rameez
The Customs officials on Sunday arrested Perinthalmanna native Rameez, who is suspected to have collected smuggled gold in the past. The interrogation of Rameez is under way in Kochi