The ED officials had forced Swapna to give a statement against the Chief Minister as part of a criminal conspiracy to make false evidence, the FIR said.
On the charges of allegedly forcing Swapna Suresh, a key accused in the gold smuggling case, to implicate Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the Kerala Police have registered a case against officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a central government investigative agency.
An audio clip that became public last November had Swapna— who is in jail since July 2020 — allegedly saying that officials were forcing her to confess she had travelled to the UAE with M Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, also an accused in the case, for financial negotiations meant for the CM.
In this audio clip, she further claimed that ED officials said they would make her an approver if she acted according to them.
Following the release of the audio clip, the crime branch wing of Kerala police had initiated an investigation. The police registered a case on Thursday against unnamed ED officers after obtaining favourable legal opinion. The ED officials had forced Swapna to give a statement against the Chief Minister as part of a criminal conspiracy to make false evidence, the FIR said.
The FIR has been registered under IPC sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury), 192 (fabricating false evidence) and 195-A (threatening any person to give false evidence).
As per the Indian Express, sources in ED said they had not received any official information yet on the FIR registered against them. “’By registering a case, the Kerala Police has created a constitutional crisis. We are awaiting a decision from the Centre. Swapna had not made any such allegation before the court or the investigating agency. The state police have fabricated statements, and attributed these to her. The women constables on guard duty acted on behalf of the ruling party. This action amounts to intimidation,” a source in the agency, who did not wish to be named, said, the Indian Express reported.
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