KOCHI: Ernakulam Central Police registered a case against gold smuggling case prime accused Swapna Suresh's advocate Krishna Raj under Section 295A over a social media post, on June 11.
Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) relates to "deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs." The charge was slapped on him for his Facebook post against a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus driver who was allegedly in a Muslim religious dress.
Krishna Raj alleged in the Facebook post that the driver is running a bus which is from Kondotty (in Malappuram district) to Kabul (in Afghanistan).
The case was registered in a complaint filed by Advocate Anoop VR, who is a Thrissur native.
Gold smuggling case prime accused Swapna Suresh had made an emotional appeal before the media here on June 11 in the wake of her lawyer R Krishna Raj's potential arrest saying 'don't hurt people who are around me'.
According to Swapna, it's a deliberate attempt to isolate her. "Why are they attacking me like this. I stick to the statement I gave. Don't hurt people who are around me. Hurt me, please kill me so that the story will get over," she said."Give me chance to live. Why are you doing this to my lawyer also now? Shaj Kiran told us that the lawyer will be affected, the case will be taken against him," she added.
The Kerala gold smuggling case pertains to the smuggling of gold in the state through diplomatic channels. It had come to light after 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crore smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by the customs department in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5, 2020.
Swapna Suresh alleged that in 2016, M Sivasankar, the former Principal Secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, had asked her to send baggage to Dubai which belonged to Vijayan. However, when the bag was brought to the consulate, it was found that it contained currencies and the entire gold smuggling business had begun from then.