Swapna Suresh, an accused in the politically stormy UAE gold smuggling case, appeared to counter certain allegedly "unfounded" insinuations by senior bureaucrat M. Sivasankar in his autobiographical work on his trials and tribulations as a suspect in the crime.
Mr. Sivasankar had reportedly suggested in his book that Swapna's complicity in the crime had shocked him. and that she had tricked him into friendship by gifting him an expensive mobile phone.
Speaking to television channels outside her apartment in the capital, Swapna said she would write a "tell-all" if any person challenged her "chastity or integrity". She said Mr. Sivasankar appeared to mislead the public.
"He had spent months in prison and penned a book to show the universe that he is good at the expense of others. It is not fair on his part. I have given him many gifts as a personal companion. I have not slung mud at anybody. A mobile phone is a trifling present for an official of Sivasankar's stature. Can he say no? I have not revealed anything. But if pressed, I will react openly", she said.
Swapna said Mr. Sivasankar knew everything about her life till July 5, including the "hanky-panky activities" in the UAE consulate where she was the executive secretary for long.
“Mr. Sivasankar asked me to shelve the job and offered me a placement at the State-run Space Park. He even wrote the resume for the job. How can he claim that he did not help me land the Space Park assignment?” she asked.
Swapna said she had known Mr. Sivasankar as a “family friend” for several years. “I did nothing on my own. I always went by what he said in all day-to-day matters,” she said.
When asked why she maintained a joint locker account with Mr. Sivasankar, Swapna said: “I get commissions for projects. I did not know anything about government rules or bank regulations. Mr. Sivasankar said let us do it together.”
Swapna painted a bleak picture of her life after her protracted incarceration as a remand prisoner. "Everybody deserted me, including my husband, Jayasankar. Even other accused in the case have turned against me. They are hurling stones at me. They have manipulated and exploited me. I am the victim", she said.
