After twists and turns, now the Customs official will question former Secretary of CPM Kodiyeri Balakrishnan's wife SR Vinodini in connection with the gold smuggling case. The Customs has issued a notice to Vinodini to appear before the officials at the Kochi office next week for questioning.
According to Customs, Vinodini was using an iPhone worth Rs 1.13 lakh, which was one of the six iPhones bought by Unitac MD Santhosh Eepan. Reportedly, it was the most expensive phone bought by Santhosh Eepan.
The phone was switched off since the gold smuggling case came to light. However, Customs officials were able to trace the person who used the phone using the IMEI number and SIM card. Earlier, there were many controversies relating to these iPhones.
The probing agencies have found that Santhosh Eepan bought these iPhones to bribe Swapna Suresh for his involvement in Dollar smuggling, gold smuggling case and Life Mission case.
As new revelations are unearthing each day, it is very crucial for the CPM as well as the Kerala government since Assembly elections are around the corner.
On Friday, the Customs told the High Court that Swapna Suresh had admitted to the smuggling of foreign currency at the instance of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Kerala Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan. Her claims were included in an affidavit filed by the Customs department in the Kerala High Court. Her statement also names three other cabinet ministers of the state as well as CM’s former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar. Further, the affidavit also claims that Swapna apprehends torture and threat to her life in prison.
Earlier, Swapna had informed that a group identifiable as police officers had threatened her from naming the big wigs behind the operation. Later, several reports had claimed that there were other high-profile names, apart from Sreeramakrishnan, included in Swapna’s confession.
Santhosh Eepan had earlier said that he bought those iPhones following Swapna's request. Currently, Customs is investigating how Vinodini got this phone. Also, the officials have revealed that a SIM in the name of Vinodini was used in the phone. The Customs has already issued a notice to Speaker in connection with the dollar smuggling case.
