Gold smuggling: Pinarayi says don’t intimidate me
Without mentioning the recent allegations by key accused Swapna Suresh against him and his family, Vijayan said there were a flood of similar allegations against his government before the Assembly election, but the people rejected the charges and gave them a fresh mandate.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. (File Photo) Amid the Opposition’s clamour for his resignation, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Saturday said the fresh allegations against him in the gold smuggling case would not affect him or his government.
Without mentioning the recent allegations by key accused Swapna Suresh against him and his family, Vijayan said there were a flood of similar allegations against his government before the Assembly election, but the people rejected the charges and gave them a fresh mandate.
“We are more indebted to the people now…we will not surrender before any force that stands against the interest of the country for sure,” he said while inaugurating the Kerala Gazetted Officers’ Association (KGOA) state conference here.
Suresh had earlier this week alleged that Vijayan had taken currency to UAE in 2016 with the help of a diplomat at the UAE Consulate in the Kerala capital.
Warning those raising allegations not to try to intimidate him, Vijayan said such attempts would not yield any result.
Meanwhile, the government removed Additional Director-General of Police M R Ajith Kumar as Head of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) after he was found to be keeping in touch with a journalist-cum-real estate dealer, Shaj Kiran, who allegedly attempted to get Suresh to retract her statements.
Suresh had alleged that last Tuesday — after she gave a statement in a court in Kochi under section 164 of Cr PC against Vijayan, his family members and others in connection with a money laundering case related to smuggling — Kiran had met her, claiming he was given the task to settle the issue. To substantiate the allegation, Suresh Friday released an audio clip of her conversation with Kiran. In the clip, Kiran is also purportedly heard saying that Vijayan and CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s funds are being sent to the US through a church founded by Kerala-based Christian evangelist K P Yohannan.
Police Saturday also registered a non-bailable case against Suresh’s advocate, R Krishna Raj. Raj was booked on May 20 over a social media post against a state transport corporation driver belonging to a minority community.
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