The Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party staged a protest outside the Kerala Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday after a fire broke out at the secretariat, the Hindustan Times reported. The Opposition parties called the fire “a conspiracy to destroy evidence related to the gold smuggling case”.
The fire was brought under control, and there were no casualties or injuries. However, a number of files were destroyed, which caused the Opposition to suspect foul play. Kerala BJP President K Surendran was arrested from the spot following the protest. “Democracy has been slaughtered,” he claimed before being taken away. He also alleged that it was a “well-planned sabotage and an attempt to hide the involvement of ministers in the gold smuggling case”.
Other BJP leaders who were protesting at the site demanded a forensic examination of the areas damaged by the fire.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala also alleged that the fire was a conspiracy to tamper with evidence. Both the BJP and the Congress have demanded a high-level inquiry into the incident.
P Hani, additional secretary in the general administration department, said that the fire damaged the office of the protocol officer investigating the gold smuggling case, and that it was caused by a short circuit. However, he claimed that no important files were destroyed, Mathrubhumi reported. Incidentally, the National Investigation Agency, which is inquiring into the case, had asked for files from the protocol officer’s office.
Kerala Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta arrived at the spot, where police officers assured him of a detailed inquiry.
The case
On July 5, gold weighing 30 kg concealed in imported plumbing material was seized by the Customs officials upon inspection of an air cargo consignment addressed to the Consular General of the United Arab Emirates in Thiruvananthapuram district. Officials valued the gold at Rs 15 crore.
The customs department arrested accused Sarith PS on the same day for allegedly facilitating the smuggling of the gold in diplomatic baggage from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai.
Sarith PS and Swapna Suresh worked at the consulate-general’s office until six months ago. Later, the state government had appointed Suresh as marketing liaison officer of the Space Park project under the IT Department’s Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited. Her contract was terminated after the allegations surfaced.
Sivasankar was also removed as the principal secretary of Vijayan after Opposition leaders questioned his alleged association with the three accused.
On July 22, the Enforcement Directorate filed a money laundering complaint in the case. The Enforcement Case Information Report, equivalent to a first information report, will enable the directorate to attach the properties of the accused.
The NIA has asked officials handling the CCTV at the State Secretariat to hand over all the footage recorded from July 1 to July 14.
On August 10, a special NIA court dismissed Suresh’s bail plea. The NIA has told the court that proceeds from the smuggling might be used for terror funding.
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