Ramesh insists on FIR by state cops in smuggling case

Thiruvananthapuram: The failure of Kerala Police to register an FIR was a ruse to help the accused, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said here on Saturday. He warned of opting for legal recourse if state police fail to file an FIR in the case immediately.
Ramesh said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was trying to trivialize the gold smuggling case and the connections the key accused have with the CM’s office. “How can he simply wash off his hands by saying that it’s just another customs case. His arguments that the smuggling happened inside the airport and Kerala Police have nothing to do with it hold no water. It’s clear that his office was involved in the case,” the opposition leader said.
The police have to adhere to the laws of the country including Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), Indian Penal Code and orders of the court while functioning, and cannot act as per the whims and fancies of any person, he argued at a press conference here.
He said he has “written a letter to the state police chief in the issue with a copy to SHO Valiyathura police station, Thiruvananthapuram. It is really a matter of worry that the police have not registered an FIR, even a week after the smuggling case was reported. It is because of the delay in registering an FIR that Swapna Suresh could move a bail application in Kerala high court, pointing out that she doesn’t have a criminal background.”
Ramesh said, “CBI investigation is needed simultaneously to probe the corruption and other criminal aspects as the case has direct links with the chief minister’s office.”