Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan helps UAE terrorist escape - Swapna Suresh

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan helped a United Arab Emirates terrorist, who was caught with a satellite phone, to escape the law in 2017, says Swapna Suresh, the main accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case, on Monday.

Interacting with media persons in Kochi, she said that on July 4, 2017, an Egypt-born UAE national was detained by CISF personnel at the Cochin airport with a Thuraya satellite phone. He was later handed over to Nedumbassery police.

In the end of June month, Swapna Suresh, key accused in gold smuggling through diplomatic bags case, wrote to PM Narendra Modi, alleging that since state govt officials themselves are prime suspects, CBI probe is mandatory to find truth.

Now, Swapna Suresh alleged that the CM’s office intervened in the matter of UAE terrorist, and he was allowed to fly out of the country three days after the incident. “The day he was arrested, I got a call from the UAE consulate in the state capital to speak with the CM’s office. I called up his secretary, M Sivasankar, and informed him about this. He called me after 10 minutes saying that an official was engaged to help his release immediately,” Suresh said.

According to Suresh, the UAE terrorist arrived in north Kerala’s Kozhikode airport on June 30 and he spent four days in the state; he was apprehended on his way back. She alleged that the “CM had misused his power to help a foreign national whose antecedents were suspicious”.

“His antecedents were quite suspicious. He was sent back without probing his activities in the state for four days. How can the CM’s office interfere blatantly to arrange his release? These illegal activities were done so as to ensure that his daughter Veena Vijayan was able to start a business venture in the UAE,” Suresh said.

“It is natural for UAE officials to get in touch with officials in Kerala when their nationals court troubles. But how can the CM intervene in such a sensitive case? The UAE national was let off without being probed for his activities in the state. If you want to confirm this, you can check with Nedumbassery police station or CISF,” she claimed.