The Crime Branch has opened a second criminal inquiry against unnamed Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on the charge of coercing an accused in the UAE gold smuggling case to implicate Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the crime falsely.
The agency has reportedly filed a statement in a magistrate court in Kochi based on the complaint filed by Sandeep Nair, one of the prime suspects in the case.
Sandeep had reportedly alleged in his petition that ED officials had tortured him into naming Mr. Vijayan as an accomplice in the crime. The agency had allegedly sought legal opinion before registering the case.
Last week, the CB filed an FIR against unnamed ED officials on the charge of intimidating gold smuggling suspect and COFEPOSA accused Swapna Suresh to give a statement incriminating Mr. Vijayan in the crime. The agency had leaned heavily on a statement filed by a policewoman in charge of escorting Swapna to register the case.
