KOCHI: Kerala's minister for higher education, KT Jaleel, was questioned by the Commissionerate of Customs (Preventive) at its Kochi office on Monday. Jaleel was issued a summons for questioning earlier and he arrived at the Kochi Customs office at around 11.45 am and remained cooped up indoors with the officials till around 6.30 pm.
Customs - after the Enforcement Directorate and the National Investigation Agency - was the third central agency to question the minister in connection with revelations that came out following the gold smuggling scandal. In contrast to his previous encounters with the other two agencies, the minister arrived at the Customs office in a state car and cops were seen saluting him as he went into the office complex at Broadway, Ernakulam, for questioning.
According to Customs sources, the agency summoned him to clarify suspicions that they have relating to the issues associated with the UAE consulate, including the distribution of Quran imported by the consulate.
“We have received certain inputs relating to the minister that needed verification by confronting him with it. The matters included the import and distribution of the Quran among others. Questions were raised regarding the primary gold smuggling case as well. We would study his statement before taking the next step,” said a Customs official.
The role of the minister is mainly under the lens in connection with the import of Qurans by the UAE consulate. Customs have found out that around 250 packages containing 31 copies of Quran in each was imported by the consulate. The probe team had also found out that the consulate had handed over 32 packets containing copies of the Quran to Jaleel which was distributed at various parts of Kerala in connection with Ramzan observance.
Customs sees the distribution of Quran’s--imported duty free by the Consulate--locally as an instance of duty evasion. This fact makes them prima-facie interested in the Quran case, for which they have registered a separate case. Another issue is the disparity in the weight of the consignment to the weight recorded formally. Thirdly, the involvement of Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the gold smuggling case, who was also the secretary to the Consul General, as a go between also raised Customs suspicion.
Soon after the questioning, minister KT Jaleel made a Facebook post reacting to the questioning which he referred to as ‘Statement Collection’. The post titled ‘Don’t waste time trying to tighten a noose that won’t’ was posted at around 6.40 PM soon after the Customs completed the day’s questioning.
“Since the Customs called me for collecting the statement after publicising the same in the media, I visited the Customs office formally and explained the truth behind the incidents. Since NIA and ED called me to record the statement confidentially, I had gone to them confidentially,” Jaleel said in the post.
He further added: “I repeat, even if a 1000 agencies, investigate for 10,000 years…not even a microscopic evidence can be brought against me in any case--be it, gold smuggling, financial misappropriations or corruption, or in a case on a failed business, started by collecting shares by duping the public or even for accepting 10 paisa as a bribe…,” Jaleel said in the post.
He added that those trying to tighten the noose around his neck would only collapse due to fatigue, if their ropes don’t break before that. “This is not arrogance or a challenge, but the courage of the mind that arises out of the perfect knowledge that I have not done anything wrong,” Jaleel wrote.
The gunman of Jaleel was earlier questioned regarding the issue by Customs last week. This was on information that some calls to the Gold smuggling case accused and former secretary to the Consul General, Swapna Suresh, was made from his phone, sources said.
Jaleel had earlier justified his phone calls to accused Swapna Suresh, saying they were merely for expediting the consignments sent at the behest of the UAE consul general and meant for distribution in Jaleel’s assembly constituency.
Meanwhile, the violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) which specifically states that ‘No foreign contribution shall be accepted by any member of any legislature’ remains as a topic sparsely looked into.