The preventive wing of the Cochin Customs interrogated Kerala Wakf Minister K.T. Jaleel for nearly nine hours in Kochi on Monday.
The interrogation that began in the morning ended by around 7 p.m. The questioning was in connection with the import of the Koran from the United Arab Emirates by its consulate as diplomatic baggage and its distribution in some parts of the State.
Mr. Jaleel asserted on his social media page that his hands were clean and no agencies could ever produce even an iota of evidence to link him to any shady deal.
“No one will be able to implicate me in a gold smuggling case or financial fraud, wealth amassment, fraudulent business deals or taking bribe. Truth alone will prevail,” noted Mr. Jaleel.
The Minister said he went to the Customs office officially as the Customs notice for appearance was publicised in the media. The factual position regarding the case was communicated to Customs officials.
Taking a dig at his detractors, Mr. Jaleel said those who wished to tighten the noose around his neck would either become tired of the act or the noose would snap and he would emerge unscathed.
The consignment weighing 4,479 kg was brought from the UAE by officials of the UAE consulate. The port of loading the consignment was shown as Dubai in the Bill of Entry and it was loaded on March 4, 2020. There were 250 packets of the Koran in the consignment. The contents of the packets were mentioned as ‘Holy Quran (Diplomatic Cargo)’ in the description part of the consignment in the Bill of Entry.
Customs officials cleared the cargo and no customs charges were levied on the consignment as it was brought to Kerala as diplomatic cargo.
Mr. Jaleel’s initiative for distributing the Koran in some parts of northern Kerala had kicked up a political storm as allegations of violation of protocol were raised against the Minister. Some packets were taken for distribution in official vehicles of some departments under his administrative control.
Defending his action, Mr. Jaleel had earlier stated that the distribution of the holy book need to be viewed only as a cultural activity.
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