From being the prime accused in the politically sensational Kerala gold smuggling scam, spending a year in judicial custody to working in a Kerala-based NGO for tribal welfare post bail, Swapna Suresh has brought in yet another twist in the saga.
She has made the startling allegation of receiving a death threat from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Swapna, in her anticipatory bail application filed in the Kerala High Court, alleged that on June 8, a man named Shaji Kiran, claiming to be close to Vijayan and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, was sent to threaten her and her co-accused Sarith Nair.
Swapna’s police complaint states she was asked to surrender before the Chief Minister and that she had made allegations against the CM at the instigation of the RSS and BJP. She claimed that Shaji said if she didn’t comply, a string of cases would be filed against her and Sarith Nair, and that “they will not see daylight in their life again”.
This is not the first time Swapna has tried to use the media to claim that she is being made a “scapegoat”. Her media statements claiming there have been relentless attempts to harass her only go on to show that she has become a political pawn, used by parties to target each other “claiming to expose corrupt practices”.
After being released from judicial custody in November 2021, Swapna reportedly landed a job as the Director, Women Empowerment & CSR at the NGO, but alleged that her detractors have targeted her at every point…