In the latest development in the Kerala gold smuggling case, wife of Sandeep Nair, a key accused, has named two people- Karat Faisal and Karat Rasak- as the people for whom her husband and others worked for. Though the wife's statement to the Customs Department in July does not elaborate on who Karat Faisal and Karat Rasak are, many media outlets have said that she meant Koduvally MLA Karat Razak and Faisal Karat who is a councillor in Kozhikode district. MLA Karat Razak has denied the claim, stating that he did not know any accused in the scam, nor did he know Sandeep's wife.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) backed Independent legislator told the media that a fair probe will reveal that this allegation is false. “I don’t know any of them nor do I have any relation to the gold smuggling case. I don’t even know what their names are. Let there be a fair probe, then even the said accused’s wife cannot drag my name into it,” MLA Razak said, adding “But if this is a probe as part of some agenda, then I cannot say anything.”
Meanwhile, councillor Faisal Karat from Koduvally municipality, an Independent candidate backed by the LDF, was quizzed by the Customs Department probing the controversial case, earlier this month.
Notably, Faisal, who is the councillor of Parambathukavu in Koduvally municipality, has been accused of being involved in gold smuggling before too. In 2013, Faisal Karat was reportedly named as an accused in smuggling six kg of gold through Calicut International Airport. After he was quizzed by Customs earlier this month, reports had come out alleging that he had invested in the smuggling.
Both Sandeep Nair and KT Ramees — mentioned in the statements by the former’s wife — are key accused in the case pertaining to smuggling of 30 kg gold in a diplomatic baggage meant for the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. While Sandeep has been named as the fourth accused, Ramees is alleged to be the kingpin behind the racket, which allegedly smuggled over 160 kg of gold in the past year through diplomatic consignments.
Meanwhile, in the statement, Sandeep’s wife also said that she knew he was involved in gold smuggling and had often told him not to be involved in such matters. She added that Sandeep used to physically assault her since she objected to this.
Watch Karat Razak MLA's reaction: