'Why don't you just kill me?': Kerala gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh breaks down

Kerala gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh broke down in front of the media in Palakkad while claiming that there was a deliberate attempt being made to hurt people around her and isolate her.

Team Newsable

Thiruvananthapuram, First Published Jun 12, 2022, 1:45 PM IST

Kerala gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh broke down in front of the media in Palakkad while claiming that there was a deliberate attempt being made to hurt people around her and isolate her.

Defending her lawyer R Krishnaraj, who faces arrest over an old Facebook post, Swapna said: "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."

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Kerala gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh broke down in front of the media in Palakkad while claiming that there was a deliberate attempt being made to hurt people around her and isolate her.

"I am unwell. Give me a chance to live. These tears are not of a coward, but of a woman who is suffering a lot. Now, why is this even being done with my lawyer? You should have done this when the Facebook post came out, not when the audio clip came out," she said before breaking down in front of the media.

She further said, "I don't have enough money to keep changing lawyers one by one. Please don't do this and leave us alone. Let the court decide. How many more charges will be levelled against me. I am being targeted like a terrorist without any reason. Stop this, you can kill me, but stop killing others."

To note, Kerala police have registered a non-bailable case against Swapna's lawyer for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through social media. The lawyer was booked for his May 25 post on social media criticising the attire of a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus driver.

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According to the police, the lawyer falsely claimed that a KSRTC driver was insulting a particular religion as he was wearing a white robe. A photograph of the driver had gone viral and many right-wing social media handles, including that of the BJP State president K Surendran, had claimed that the driver was not wearing the uniform but a traditional Muslim attire.

Later, KSRTC clarified that the driver was wearing a sky-blue shirt which is the uniform of its staff and that the picture looked like he was wearing a robe due to the angle in which the photograph was taken.

Swapna reiterated that the case against her lawyer was the fallout of her recent revelations in the gold-smuggling case against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family.

Swapna had given statements against the chief minister, his family members, former Kerala Minister K T Jaleel and some other top bureaucrats.

A former employee of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, Swapna was taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency along with another accused Sandeep Nair from Bengaluru on July 11, 2020.

The NIA, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Customs conducted separate probes into the racket that was busted with the seizure of gold worth Rs 15 crore from the diplomatic baggage of the UAE Consulate at Thiruvananthapuram airport on July 5, 2020.

Several people, including M Sivasankar, the former Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, and another ex-employee of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram - Sarith - were arrested in connection with the case.

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Last Updated Jun 12, 2022, 1:45 PM IST