ED quizzes Swapna for 5 hrs, asks her to come again today
Following her explosive revelations in a confessional statement before a magistrate early this month, the prime accused in the gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh on Wednesday was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials for five hours. She was asked to appear again on Thursday.
Swapna after meeting her lawyer, reached the ED office after 11 am and was allowed to go around 4.30 pm but was asked to return again on Thursday at 11 am.
In her confessional statement made under Section 164 (5) of the Criminal Procedure Code, parts of which she herself told the media early this month that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his wife Kamala and their daughter Veena were engaged in smuggling of gold and currency and also biriyani vessels were moved from the residence of the UAE Consul general here to Vijayan’s residence contained metal objects.
Following this revelation, the Congress and the BJP launched a massive protest demanding the resignation of Vijayan, forcing him to go into a shell and after this he has remained indoors most of the time. And when stepping out, he moves around a massive security cordon. It was last week the ED had served a notice to Swapna asking her to present herself before them at their office here on Wednesday.
Despite the adversities, Vijayan continued to maintain his calm and with the pandemic peaking, things took a turn and he won both the local body and the 2021 Assembly polls and he, like several others, felt that the case would soon be forgotten, sources said.
But, the case resurfaced and Swapna’s fresh statements rocked the entire state as in the first round of ED interrogation, Vijayan’s name was missing. Things have changed for worse for the CM as the accused has not only named him, but also his wife and their daughter.