Swapna established link with CMO via ex-official

Swapna Suresh, a key accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case, had established a link with the Chief Minister’s Office through its former principal secretary M Sivasankar, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) told a special NIA court on Thursday. The special NIA court in Kochi was hearing the bail plea of Swapna Suresh when the NIA made the submissions opposing the bail. Additional Solicitor General P Vijayakumar, appearing for the NIA, submitted that Swapna Suresh had a casual association with the Chief Minister’s Office and former principal secretary to the CMO M Sivasankar, who was also her mentor. —