Co-accused in Swapna Suresh fake certificate case moves court to turn approver

Thiruvananthapuram: In a new development in the Swapna Suresh fake certificate case, co-accused Sachin Das has petitioned to be treated as an approver. The case involves Swapna Suresh securing a high-paying job at the Space Park by producing a fake graduation certificate.

Sachin Das, a native of Amritsar and the second defendant, filed the petition in the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court. The core of the case is Swapna Suresh using a fake graduation certificate to get a posting at Space Park, a project under the Kerala State IT Infrastructure Limited. The fake certificate, issued by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University under the name of Dev Education Trust, was facilitated by Sachin Das.

Swapna Suresh's fraudulent certificate helped her secure a lucrative job with a monthly salary of Rs 3.18 lakh. This led to significant financial implications for the government, with the Cantonment Police registering a case alleging a loss of Rs 19,06,730 in salary over six months.

M. Sivasankar, the former principal secretary to the Chief Minister, played a key role in securing Swapna's job at the Space Park. As the case proceeds, it has been noted that if the investigating officer or the prosecutor lacks substantial evidence, they may convert one of the accused into an approver to strengthen the case.