Thiruvananthapuram:
Prime accused in the gold smuggling case Swapna Suresh and two firms, including PricewaterHouseCoopers, were on Monday booked on charges of cheating and forgery by Kerala police over alleged fake degree certificate submitted by her to secure a job in the state IT department, from which she has been removed now. The consulting agency Pricewaterhousecoopers and Vision Technologies, responsible for verifying the documents submitted by her, were the second and third accused in the case, police said.
The case was registered on a complaint by the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited (KSITIL), which is under the IT department, they said. It has been registered under IPC sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document).
Suresh is facing allegations of submitting a fake B.Com degree certificate of Maharashtra-based Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar University for getting an appointment in the Space Park under the I-T department. Her employment was terminated by the government after her name cropped up in connection with the bid to smuggle over 30 kg of gold using a diplomatic baggage through the international airport here recently. She has been arrested in the smuggling case by the NIA along with another accused.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Saturday said an inquiry will be held into the complaint regarding the alleged fake degree certificate submitted by Suresh, who is the second accused in the gold smuggling case. The woman, a former employee of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) consulate here, is among the four accused booked by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Complaints had been filed in some police stations against the woman for allegedly submitting the fake degree certificate. BJP has also submitted a complaint to the state police chief in this regard.
