Swapna Suresh moves Kerala HC for anticipatory bail, says threatened by ‘CM Vijayan’s messenger’

In the anticipatory bail plea moved at the Kerala High Court, Suresh and P S Sarith, another accused in the smuggling scandal, said that the police were threatening her with arrest based on a “false” complaint filed by K T Jaleel alleging that the petitioners had conspired with some others and that she had given a false statement under section 164 of CrPC.

She alleged that “several persons who are in the higher-ups of the administration, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his wife Kamala, his daughter Veena, K T Jaleel, former speaker P Sreeramakrishnan, IAS officials Nalini Netto and Sivasankar (former principal secretary of CM Vijayan), are involved in many anti-social and anti-national activities involving the UAE Consulate. The petitioners were cleverly used by these persons in collusion with the Consulate General, UAE Consulate, using its diplomatic protection”.

“Petitioners through the Customs department gave a statement disclosing the involvement of the above persons in the nefarious illegal and anti-national activities in the UAE Consulate before the magistrate under section 164 of CrPC. But that statement has been suppressed by the Customs without taking any action or conducting any investigation about the involvement of the above persons, including the chief minister,” Suresh alleged.

Suresh said that she had categorically stated before the magistrate that the evidence for supplementing and proving her allegations are available in the devices the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seized from the petitioners, including mobile phones and laptops. But no action had been taken by the Customs department, she alleged in the petition.

“It is true that both these offences are bailable and the petitioners need not file an anticipatory bail application. It is also true that Sarith is not arraigned as an accused in that crime. But considering the situation and the circumstances that prevail in the state right now and since the media reports clearly show that Pinarayi Vijayan, who is the chief minister as well as the home minister, is hell-bent on taking the petitioners into custody to coerce them to withdraw the statement given under 164 CrPC, It is pertinent to note here that the ingredients of section 153 will not be attracted at all. The section clearly says that an act will attract the offence only if it is done with intent to cause riot,” she said in the plea.

Swapna and Sarith also alleged in the petition that a person named Shaj Kiran had come to see them on Wednesday on the instruction of CM Vijayan to “settle the issue”.

“He is a person who was introduced to the petitioner by Sivasankar, stating that he is a person who is very close to Pinarayi Vijayan and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan (CPM state secretary) and he, being one of the directors of Gospel for Asia, an organisation of K P Yohannan, is the person who is handling the investment of the chief minister as well as Kodiyeri Balakrishnan abroad. He informed the petitioners that he had come as instructed by Pinarayi Vijayan to settle the issue created by Suresh by giving (the) 164 statement. He started pressuring the petitioners to surrender before the chief minister. He informed that already a case has been registered against her and if they do not surrender before the chief minister by openly stating that she has (had) given (the) 164 statement at the instigation of the petitioners’ present counsel and (the) RSS and (the) BJP, he threatened the petitioners with dare consequences to the effect that they will not see daylight as cases will be registered against them in such a way they will have to remain in jail for long. He also informed the petitioners that, though (the) case has been only against the 1st petitioner and though the offences registered against them are only 153 and 120 B of IPC they will include more charges and the 2nd petitioner will also be included as an accused the police will take both of them into custody and will be remanded to judicial custody,” she said in the plea.

His demand was that Suresh should record an audio/video stating the facts contained in the statement given under Section 164 Cr PC are false and she was compelled to do it, she said.

Suresh said she recorded some portion of the conversation with Shaj Kiran, who allegedly claimed that he had come to the petitioners on behalf of Vijayan. According to the plea, he also informed the petitioners that if Suresh failed to give a statement as demanded by the chief minister, the petitioners would be arrested from the residence in Palakkad and brought to the Cantonment police station in Thiruvananthapuram. There they would be kept in custody for questioning and remanded to judicial custody after adding non-bailable offences, he informed the petitioners as per the plea.