Govt receives legal advice to book case against ED officials

Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has received legal advice to register case against the Enforcement Directorate (ED). According to the legal advice given by the Director General of Prosecution, a case can be booked on the revelation that ED pressurized gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh to give statement against the chief minister.

The home secretary sought advice of the Director General of Prosecution Manjeri Sreedharan Nair on the basis of the preliminary probe by Crime Branch. Following this, the Director General of Prosecution provided the legal advice.

It is stated in the advice that case can be registered against the ED officials. The statement that ED officials pressurised the accused in giving fake testimonial against the chief minister, is a serious offense. Cases for conspiracy and other charges will be booked against the ED.

During the primary investigation of Crime Branch, statements of 18 accused including Swapna Suresh was recorded. Among them, Swapna had admitted to the prison staff that the leaked audio clip was hers. She had revealed in this clip about ED officials pressurising her.

Later, she revealed that a lady officer gave her a phone at ED office and asked to talk about the difficulties she faced. Swapna said that she was unaware of who was on the call. However, the legal advice pointed out that the first statement is most important and that should be taken into account.