The Left Democratic Front government in Kerala is set to face further heat over the gold smuggling case. The statements of accused Swapna Suresh and P.S. Sarith could land at least four ministers in serious trouble in the coming days that will coincide with the run-up to the Assembly elections.
The statements given by the accused to the Customs contain details of their proximity and transactions with these ministers, claim sources from the investigation team.
With the names of the higher-ups figuring in the statements given by the accused, the investigating agencies have begun hectic discussions in Delhi and Kerala to plan the future course of action.
Customs Preventive Commissioner Sumit Kumar, who dashed off to Delhi to hold discussions with the Customs Board, is likely to return on Friday.
Enforcement Directorate special director Prashant Kumar, who arrived from Delhi, held hectic parleys with the investigation team for two days. He has since returned to the national capital.
A sealed cover submitted to the Economic Offences Court by the Customs based on the depositions of Swapna and Sarith during their questioning, reportedly, had "startling" details.
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Swapna's links with the ministers were proven from the deleted WhatsApp messages that were retrieved with the help of C-DAC.
Such critical information gathered from Swapna and Sarith is part of the documents made available to the court in the sealed cover.
(This article was first published in onmanorama)
