Nambiar is a coordinating news editor with Janam TV. (Facebook/Anil Nambiar)A day after being questioned by the Customs Department in connection with the Kerala gold smuggling case, senior journalist Anil Nambiar on Friday said that he was “staying away from the responsibilities” assigned by Janam TV until the shadow of doubts around him was cleared.
Nambiar, the coordinating news editor with Janam TV, also stated that the move by the Kerala government was “aimed at striking the higher-ups in the BJP”.
“Janam TV is presenting all the reports related to this perfectly and objectively. It should continue to go strongly. I understand that my presence with the channel is an obstacle to the flow of news. Until the doubts around me on this topic are resolved, I will stay away from the responsibilities assigned by Janam TV,” Nambiar said in a Facebook post.
On Thursday, Nambiar was questioned in connection with the probe into the smuggling of gold through diplomatic cargo to the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. He was in touch with accused Swapna Suresh on July 5, the day Customs recovered the smuggled gold.
Nambiar, who is the face of Janam TV, a news and entertainment channel, has been anchoring several debates about the smuggling case since it came to light.
“We are looking to see whether the accused got any support from the journalist. There had been telephone calls between the two after the gold was seized. It is too early to say anything about his role in the case. We are looking at whether he had any knowledge about the smuggling and whether he had given any input to Suresh to get out of the incident after gold was seized,” sources in the Customs Department said on Thursday after his questioning.
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Janam TV chief editor G K Suresh Babu said Nambiar had figured in the call list of Suresh. “When we heard about it, an explanation was sought from him. Nambiar told us that he called Suresh to get a reaction from the Consulate after hearing about the gold seizure. Later, she called back and told him the Consulate had no role in it. Nambiar told us that he had no other links with Suresh over the last one year. He said she helped him get a visa to interview jewellery owner Atlas Ramachandran (who had been jailed in UAE in a cheque bounce case),” Babu added.
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He had said that if anything was found amiss in Nambiar’s dealings on this issue, action would be taken against him. “Janam TV is a channel with a nationalistic view. We cannot compromise on national interest,” he added.
Nambiar was earlier involved in a forgery case in 2001, when he was a reporter with Surya TV in Thiruvananthapuram.