THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The gold smuggling case took a new turn on Tuesday after the call list of the accused revealed the name of Higher Education Minister KT Jaleel, making him the first minister from the state cabinet to be dragged into the high-profile case being investigated by the National Investigation Agency for suspected terror links. The records from April to June showed Swapna Suresh and Jaleel had spoken over the phone nine times in June. While Swapna called Jaleel once and sent an SMS, Jaleel dialled her eight times. The call duration ranges from 64 seconds to 195 seconds.
The accused also got in touch with Jaleel’s personal staff a few times over the phone. The minister, while admitting that he spoke to Swapna a number of times, told reporters she had called him to discuss the Ramzan kit distribution by the UAE consulate. He returned the call to Swapna on the direction of the UAE consulate-general, Jaleel said. The UAE consulate, he said, used to provide food kits for distribution during the Ramzan fast. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in his presser, defended his cabinet colleague. “People who say whatever they feel like are behind the allegation against Jaleel,” the CM said.
The call records, leaked to the media on Tuesday, also showed the accused Sarith P S had been in touch with M Sivasankar, the former secretary to the chief minister. Sarith dialled Sivasankar nine times and Sivasankar called him back five times between April 20 and June 1. Their call duration ranges from 8 seconds to 755 seconds. The call list also confirmed that the admin attaché of the UAE Consulate had been in touch with Swapna Suresh. The tower location of Swapna’s phone confirmed that she was near the Secretariat a day before she left Thiruvananthapuram.
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Pinarayi defends Sivasankar, says probe by Chief secy under way
Sivasankar appeared at the Customs office in Thiruvananthapuram after an official delegation led by Customs Officer K Ramamurthy delivered a notice in that regard. Customs officers also raided his house near Poojapura on the day. The interrogation was aimed at verifying whether he had any role in gold smuggling or if his connection with the accused was merely friendly. The CM said the investigation has not reached any conclusion to warrant a suspension of Sivasankar now. A probe led by the chief secretary is under way and action would be taken, if needed, based on the outcome of the report, he said.
Customs grills Sivasankar till late into the night
The Customs department, probing the smuggling of gold through the diplomatic channel, interrogated chief minister’s former secretary and IT secretary M Sivasankar over his alleged role in the case. The questioning, which began around 5pm on Tuesday at the Customs House in the state capital, continued well past midnight.
NIA starts hunt for Faisal
NIA court issued an open-ended non-bailable arrest warrant against Faisal Fareed, who sent gold consignments through the diplomatic channel.
The agency claims that Swapna and Sandeep knew Faisal.
The Customs nabs three more persons, including a Muvattupuzha native who was on the hit list for smuggling.
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