Swapna Suresh moves high court alleging harassment and threat by police
Swapna Suresh has moved the Kerala High Court complaining that the police had threatened her and coerced her to disclose the contents of her statement given under Section 164 in the magistrate’s court at Ernakulam in connection with the case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
In the petition filed in the high court on July 8, she alleged that the police threatened her that they would make her an accused in 770 cases registered all over Kerala in the wake of the protest against the chief minister organised by the opposition political parties. She requested the court to direct the police to stop harassing her ‘in the name of investigation of the conspiracy ‘allegedly done by her. Following a complaint by former minister K T Jaleel, the police is investigating the ‘conspiracy’ behind the allegations by Swapna against him and the chief minister and his family.
Also read: Kill me, end the story: Gold smuggling accused Swapna Suresh breaks down
“The police summoned me for interrogation on 6.7.2022. The interrogation started at around 11 am and ended after 7pm. The police was recording the interrogation in video. Majority of the time was spent in harassing me so as to coerce me to disclose the details of the statement given by me under Section 164 CrPC. The police seriously coerced and pressurised me to disclose the evidence I had given to the Enforcement Directorate against the chief minister, his daughter and others. The police also threatened me that if I do not avoid the job at HRDS and get rid of my present advocate they will arraign me as an accused in all the 770 cases registered all over Kerala taken in the wake of the agitation conducted by the opposition political parties against the chief minister. This is nothing but illegal and unjustifiable,” stated the petition of which The Federal accessed a copy.
HRDS terminates Swapna
Swapna has also alleged that unable to withstand the harassment, the HRDS — the NGO where she was employed – has sacked her and she has become jobless. The HRDS management recently informed the media that they had terminated Swapna from their service. HRDS Secretary Aji Krishnan alleged that the NGO and the staffers have been constantly hounded by the police and revenue officials ever since they employed Swapna.
HRDS India employed Swapna as the director of the Women Empowerment Programme in February 2022. Since joining, Swapna was using the premises of HRDS for meeting the press regularly and used to raise allegations against the chief minister, his family members, former minister K T Jaleel and former IAS officers who were associated with the CM. According to sources, the media glare and consistent presence of the police in the premises of HRDS had become inconvenient for them. However, despite termination from the post of the director, Swapna would continue as an advisor to the women empowerment programme organised by HRDS.
No progress by ED
Despite repeated allegations by Swapna, the ED has not been able to make any progress in the investigation of the gold smuggling case. Though Swapna had alleged that the chief minister, his daughter and wife have direct involvement in dollar smuggling and other illegal activities, the investigating agencies have not gathered even a single piece of evidence.
Also read: Kerala rocked by protests once again by Swapna Suresh’s allegations
‘The investigating agencies should have contacted me and checked my version of things if they are serious about these allegations. I was directly involved in the UAE trip of the chief minister in 2016,“ a retired IAS officer, who worked in the CM’s office, told The Federal. The former officer alleged that the allegations by Swapna are politically motivated and are false.
