Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, seeking a probe by central agencies into the gold smuggling case.
Pinarayi’s letter comes at a time when the opposition including the Congress and the BJP have targeted the Left government, and the CM over the case.
“The fact that an attempt to smuggle huge quantities of gold concealed in diplomatic baggage makes the matter extremely serious. It is learnt that customs officials are conducting enquiry into the incident. The case has serious implications as it undermines the economy of the nation. In fact, it has more than one angle warranting thorough information,” Pinarayi wrote.
Pinarayi added that a coordinated investigation by central agencies is the need of the hour.
“The scope of the probe should cover all aspects from the source to the end user. Every link of this crime should be unravelled so that such incidents do not occur,” Pinarayi added in the letter.
The Chief Minister also stated that the Centre will receive all cooperation and assistance from the state government in any probe into the matter.
Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala had on Tuesday written to Prime Minister Modi seeking his intervention in the case.
The case pertains to the seizure of 30 kg of gold smuggled in a diplomatic bag at the Thiruvananthapuram airport on Sunday. While the bag was reportedly authorised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department in the UAE and addressed to an officer of UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, allegations have surfaced of the involvement of top officials associated with the Kerala Chief Minister’s Office.
The case has blown into a political controversy as one of the main accused Swapna Prabha Suresh, a former employee of the UAE Consulate, is a contract staff under the IT Department of Kerala government. On Tuesday, M Sivasankar, Principal Secretary to the CM and Secretary of IT Department, was removed from office after allegations that he had connections with Swapna.
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