New Delhi: Customs authorities have detained a former member of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's staff and another person at the IGI airport here in an alleged case of gold smuggling. In a statement, the customs said that on the basis of suspicion, its officers have booked a case of gold smuggling against an Indian national who arrived here from Bangkok on Wednesday.
It said further investigations revealed involvement of another individual, who had come to the airport to receive the passenger and also assist in the alleged smuggling. The said the individual was intercepted and a heavy gold chain weighing 500 gm, valued at 35.22 lakh, was recovered from him. The gold was handed over to him by the passenger inside the arrival hall, the customs said.
Enquiry revealed that the individual had a valid Aerodrome Entry Permit. The circumstances of acquisition of Aerodrome Entry Permit by the receiver, as a part of the protocol team for a Member of Parliament, are being looked into, the customs said. The recovered gold has been seized under section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962 and further investigation is underway, the statement said.
Tharoor, who is in Dharamshala for campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls, said he was shocked to hear of the incident involving "a former member" of his staff who has been rendering part-time service to him in terms of airport facilitation. "He is a 72-year-old retiree undergoing frequent dialysis and was retained on a part-time basis on compassionate grounds.
"I do not condone any alleged wrongdoing and fully support the authorities in their efforts to take any necessary action as may be required to investigate the matter. The law must take its own course," Tharoor wrote on X.
Earlier, sources in Customs said one of the detainees identified himself as Shiv Kumar Prasad who has claimed that he was associated with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, in a reference to the report on the detention of the alleged aide of Shashi Tharoor, criticised the Congress and the CPM dubbing them an "alliance of gold smugglers."
"First CM Secy involved in Gold smuggling, now Cong MP "aide"/PA detained for Gold smuggling. CPM and Cong - both INDI alliance partners - alliance of gold smugglers," Chandrasekhar said on X. In 2020, Kerala was hit by a Gold Scam after the seizure of 30 Kilos of Gold by Customs at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic bag.
The investigation was taken over by the NIA and M Sivasankar, the principal secretary to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, was suspended and removed from the post after it was alleged that he had links with one of the accused. BJP leader Chandrasekhar is the NDA candidate from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency and faces a stiff challenge from the former diplomat and senior Congress leader Tharoor, who is seeking a third term.
The CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) has fielded CPI leader Pannyan Raveendran from the constituency, who won the seat in 2005. While the BJP has never won a Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, the party registered a victory in the Thiruvananthapuram district just once, with O Rajagopal winning the Nemom assembly seat in 2016.
Voting was completed on April 26 in all 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala along with 88 constituencies across 13 states and union territories in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls 2024. The Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases till June 1 and votes will be counted on June 4.
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