Gold smuggling case: Swapna Suresh released from jail
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 6: Sixteen months after her arrest in the sensational gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh, one of the prime accused in the racket, walked out of jail here on Saturday after securing bail on November 2.
Suresh, who completed the necessary bail procedure, left for her residence with her mother, days after the Kerala High Court granted bail to her and seven others in a UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) case lodged by the NIA in connection with the smuggling of gold through diplomatic channels. The court, while allowing her bail, had held that prima facie it did not find that the accused committed any terrorist act as alleged against them.
Suresh was taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) along with another accused Sandeep Nair from Bengaluru on July 11, 2020, also a Saturday.
Today, Suresh refused to talk to the media initially, but said she will respond later following which the television channels followed her to her residence in the city.
However, her mother told the waiting media there her daughter was not feeling well as she just got released from the jail, and will not be talking to them today.
Earlier, after completing the official bail proceedings, Suresh left the "Vanitha" jail at Attakulangara here, where she had been lodged.
The court had granted bail to Suresh, a former employee of the UAE consulate here, subject to furnishing a bond of Rs 25 lakh with two solvent sureties each for the like amount.
The NIA, ED and Customs conducted separate investigations into the racket that was busted with the seizure of gold worth Rs 15 crore from the diplomatic baggage of the UAE Consulate at Thiruvananthapuram airport on July 5, 2020.
Several people, including M Sivasankar, the former Principal Secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister and another ex-employee of the UAE Consulate here, Sarith P S, were arrested in connection with the case.
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Several Indians inducted into Russian Army remain missing: Report
New Delhi: In a concerning development, several Indians who were illegally enlisted in the Russian Army and forcibly sent to the war zone on the Russia-Ukraine border are reportedly still missing.
According to a report published by The Hindu on Sunday, citing communication from the Ministry of External Affairs and statements from the families of two missing men, Mohammad Amin Sheikh, a 65-year-old resident of Kupwara in Tangdhar, Jammu and Kashmir, said that his 27-year-old son, Zahoor Sheikh, last contacted the family on December 31, 2023.
Amin Sheikh mentioned that his son said that he was going for training and would not be available for the next three months on phone. “But when we started getting news about the deaths of Indians in Russia in January, we got worried and called on his number. We could not reach him. We are yet to hear from him,” Sheikh, a retired Inspector from the Public Health Department in Jammu and Kashmir, was quoted as saying by the publication.
Last week, Mohammad Amin Sheikh and his two other sons travelled to New Delhi to seek answers from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Russian Embassy after the Indian Embassy in Moscow failed to give them information about Zahoor Sheikh.
“We submitted a petition at the Russian Embassy,” 31-year-old Aijaz Amin, Zahoor Sheikh’s elder brother, told The Hindu. “They said they are looking into the matter. The MEA officials said that at least 15 Indians are still missing and though the Russian government is cooperative, their commanders on the ground are not responsive,” he added.
Zahoor had travelled to Russia after he came across a YouTube video promising the job of a security helper in Russia. Instead, he was reportedly deceived into joining the Russian Army.
Similarly, 30-year-old Mandeep, from Jalandhar in Punjab, has been missing since March. His brother, Jagdeep Kumar, also arrived in Delhi, looking for answers from the government about his sibling's whereabouts.
“We last spoke on March 3. He initially went to Armenia and was supposed to go to Italy from there in search of work. Instead, he was tricked by an agent to go to Russia and was forced to join the Russian Army. He was sent to the war zone after a few days of training,” Kumar told The Hindu.
Kumar said he met officials from the External Affairs Ministry in the capital city, who told him that at least 25 Indians were reported missing in Russia.
