Kochi: In a baffling finding, it has been discovered that a copy of the statement of Swapna Suresh, the accused in the gold smuggling case, was leaked from the Customs officer. The Central Intelligence Bureau found that the statement was released by Customs Superintendent Padmarajan Nambiar.
The Chief Commissioner of Customs said that strict action will be taken on the basis of the IB report. Commissioner Sumith Kumar is in discussion with central officers of Customs Department regarding the action.
It is believed that inclusion of Padmarajan Nambiar, who has a pro-Left background, in the investigating team was planned and Joint Commissioner of Customs Aneesh Raj is reportedly behind the idea.
A team of three including Nambiar was interrogating Swapna Suresh. He captured the picture of the statement on the same day and transferred from his phone to his wife’s phone via Blutooth. The statement was then leaked through his wife’s phone and to several others.
All details including the phone in which the picture was taken, its IMEI number and how it was transferred can be understood through digital examination.
It has also been found that capturing of only two pages from the 32-page statement of Swapna Suresh was planned. Aneesh Raj, the relocated Joint Commissioner, brought him from the GST section to the Customs Preventive Section and tasked him with recording the statements of Swapna Suresh.
Aneesh Raj was the subject of a controversy at the outset of the gold smuggling case investigation when he said that Chief Minister’s office had no role in it.
