Ramesh Chennithala, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, has said that many people in high places would be in the dock if C.M. Raveendran, Additional Private Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for interrogation in the gold smuggling case.
At a meet-the-leader programme organised by the Calicut Press Club here on Wednesday, Mr. Chennithala alleged that even Mr. Raveendran feared threat to his life. That was why he was getting hospitalised whenever the ED summoned him for questioning.
The State government should provide him with protection and get him examined by a medical team of All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The statement of Swapna Suresh, key accused in the gold smuggling case, that there was a threat on her life, was shocking, Mr. Chennithala said.
The Congress leader also said Swapna had stated that she would be finished off if she spelt out the names of higher-ups. A comprehensive probe should be carried out based on her statement. The hospitalisation of Mr. Raveendran was related to her statement, he said.
Mr. Chennithala also demanded that the name of a big shot in the smuggling of gold through the diplomatic channel be revealed.
He also likened the statement of CPI(M) State secretary A. Vijayaraghavan to that of an RSS leader by desiring the destruction of the Congress party. Mr. Chennithala said that the BJP would not make any electoral gains in the three-tier local body polls in the State.
