Gold smuggling scam accused Swapna Suresh breaks her silence, threatens to write a tell-all
Swapna slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar for claiming in his book that she had cheated him.
FollowSwapna Suresh, the prime accused in the Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling case who is now out on bail, has broken her silence. Suresh, who was released on bail a few months ago after being incarcerated for her alleged role in the smuggling of gold through the diplomatic channel, slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar for claiming in his book that she had cheated him.
"If he has written a small book, I can write a big book only on Sivasankar and me. He should never write a book like this, it is a cheap job," she said in an exclusive interview with Asianet News.Â
Suresh said she wanted to talk to Asianet News after reading the book. "He knew everything I knew. I have told the investigative agencies," she said.
The allegation comes at a time when Sivasankar has brought out his tell-all autobiography 'Aswathamavu: Verum Oru Aana' (Ashwathama is just an elephant). The book, published by noted publisher DC Books, is expected to hit the shelves on Saturday.
Swapna opened up on the case from July 2020, levelling allegations against Sivasankar. She claimed that Shivasankar was an important member of her family for three years and that her family was very open with him.Â
"I was sincere with him. Even today. I only call him sir. When I saw myself on TV, I was shocked. What did I do? I trusted him and never thought he would betray my trust. I heard the master brain behind bringing the NIA into this case was Sivashankar. The smuggling case does not come under NIA. It is purely a Customs case. NIA came and it became a terrorism case. Reliable sources told me that this was done so that I would not open her mouth," she said.
"He should have considered our relationship before levelling such allegations," she said, adding that Sivasankar knew everything about her life, including the hanky-panky activities in the UAE consulate, till July 5.
Terming herself as the victim in the entire case, Swapna said that during her incarceration as a remand prisoner, everybody, including her husband Jayashankar, had deserted her while other accused in the case had manipulated and exploited her.
However, Sivasankar, who was expelled from his post for links with Swapna -- a former executive secretary with the UAE consulate, had recently said that she had deceived him into becoming friends by gifting him an expensive mobile phone. Sivasankar also reportedly wrote in his book that Swapna's complicity in the crime had shocked him.
The Customs department had smashed a gold smuggling racket at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport and seized 30 kg of gold on July 5, 2020, from diplomatic baggage at the air cargo terminal. The consignment was found concealed along with diplomatic baggage from the UAE and would have otherwise gotten past inspection in accordance with the Vienna Convention. The recovery had kicked up a political storm.
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