The NIA Special Court in Kochi on Monday rejected the bail application moved by gold smuggling accused Swapna Suresh. The court also did not find merit in Swapna's argument that the invocation of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) was disproportionate to the charges of economic offences levelled against her.
This means that the UAPA will remain operational and the terrorism angle to the gold smuggling case will be pursued actively. The NIA Court said her application was being rejected on the basis of the case diary produced by the National Investigation Agency and other evidence that have been brought before it. It was said there was evidence to prima facie show that Swapna was part of the gold smuggling racket.
The prosecution was also able to convince the Special Court that Swapna had huge influence both within the government and the UAE Consulate. It argued that if Swapna was let out on bail, she could influence key witnesses.
The NIA, during the hearing phase, had told the Court that Swapna wielded clout in the Chief Minister's Office through the Chief Minister's former secretary M Sivasankar. She had even termed Sivasankar as her "mentor" in her statement.
The NIA had used Swapna's words against her in the Court. She had reportedly heaped the blame on the UAE Consul General and said she had done only what the consul general had asked her to do.
She even told the NIA that the Consul General had left the country with two lakh dollars using his diplomatic immunity. Her strong links with the consul general was cited by the NIA as proof of Swapna's influence within the UAE Consulate.
She also painted herself as the victim of an intense political rivalry between he BJP-led Centre and the CPM-led Kerala.
Swapna's counsel attempted to account for the money and the gold found in her possession. It was said the 120 sovereigns of gold confiscated from her was nothing but her bridal jewellery and it was also argued that the quantity of gold was nothing more than what would have been found in an ordinary middle class household with a daughter close to wedding age. Swapna has a 19-year-old daughter.
The Rs one crore found in her locker was explained as the commission money she received for a Life Mission project she had secured for a private agency.
A multi-agency probe was initiated after the Customs seized 30kg of gold from a diplomatic baggage addressed to the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram last month. The Home Ministry had directed the NIA to take over the probe. Two of the accused Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair were nabbed from Bengaluru by the NIA, while another accused P S Sarith was arrested by the Customs.
So far 12 people have been arrested by it in the case, which also led to the suspension of senior IAS officer M Sivasankar after allegations about his links to Swapna surfaced.