Standoff Over Gold Smuggling Investigation Escalates: Police Raid GST Inspector's House Amid Legal Controversy
The ongoing confrontation between the local police and the Commissionerate of Central GST, Excise, and Customs has taken a fresh twist in the investigation into gold smuggling through the Calicut International Airport. On Saturday, a police team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Moosa Vallikkadan conducted a raid on the residence of GST inspector Sandeep Nain in Kozhikode.
This particular raid was carried out with a warrant obtained from a magistrate, setting it apart from the previous operation on October 12. During the October 12 raid, the police had confiscated Mr. Nain's mobile phone and car and forcibly taken him to Malappuram as part of their investigation into a gold smuggling network involving Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Assistant Commandant Naveen. Both Nain and Naveen are originally from Haryana and are known to be friends.
The initial police action on October 12 had sparked outrage within the Central GST Commissionerate due to alleged breaches of legal procedures. GST Commissioner Manish Chandra had raised the matter with senior police officials in the state, even hinting at taking legal action against the police for their "illegal actions."
The police team responsible for investigating the gold smuggling network, under the leadership of District Police Chief Sujith Das S., began facing increasing pressure from their superiors regarding their actions. Despite Mr. Sujith Das's claim that Mr. Nain was taken into custody in a friendly manner and that no raid was conducted on October 12, questions persisted within the police hierarchy.
Last week, the police submitted to the High Court that Mr. Nain was not a suspect in the case involving the CISF assistant commandant, and they had no intention to arrest him. However, the events that unfolded on Saturday with the police raid on Mr. Nain's residence are widely seen as an attempt to "legalize" their previous actions, which had infuriated the GST Commissionerate.
Furthermore, the Kondotty DySP served Mr. Nain with a notice on Saturday, instructing him to retrieve his car (bearing registration number HR08-N2799) from the Kondotty Police Station within two days. According to the DySP's notice, the vehicle had been in police custody since October 12. It also contained a warning of further actions if Mr. Nain failed to recover his car within the specified timeframe.
The situation regarding Mr. Nain's car remained a point of contention, as the police had previously taken the vehicle from his residence on October 12 without providing a seizure memo. The circumstances surrounding how the car ended up at the Kondotty police station premises remained unclear, leading to a standoff between the police and the GST inspector on the car's retrieval process.
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