Kerala Gold Smuggling Case: In Letter to PM, Congress Leader Calls For CBI Probe

New Delhi: Congressional leader and opposition leader in the Kerala Assembly, Ramesh Chennithala, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, asking him to turn over the recent case of state gold smuggling to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), adding that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, too, “must not be saved.”

The chief minister had “misused diplomatic channels to help the guilty,” he alleged.

Speaking to the ANI news agency, he said: “I wrote to the Prime Minister requesting a CBI investigation into the gold smuggling case. By misusing the diplomatic channel, CMO helped the culprits. Simply removing the secretary will not solve the problem. CM cannot be saved either, as without your knowledge this could not have happened.”

In particular, earlier today, the state government removed CM Vijayan’s chief secretary, the top IAS M Sivasankar official, after his role in hiring an employee of the state IT department, who was allegedly involved in the case, it got under the scanner.

Mir Muhammad Ali has been appointed as the new chief secretary to the Chief Minister. Meanwhile, the state IT department employee has been fired from service and is currently on the run. She has been identified as Swapna Suresh.

The controversy concerns the discovery of more than 30 kg of gold, worth Rs 30 million, from “diplomatic baggage” at Thiruvanathapuram International Airport on Sunday. Sarath Kumar, who claimed to have worked with the UAE Consulate General, was arrested. During his interrogation, he was reported to have told Customs about Swapna, the now-fired state IT department employee.

She is also said to have worked with the UAE Consulate General.