Kochi: NIA has been clarified that there is a terrorist link in the gold smuggling case. NIA has filed a charge sheet in the gold smuggling case explaining this. Charge sheets have been filed against 20 accused. However, the charge sheet does not name M Shivashankar, the former Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister. The charge sheet came amid allegations by customs and the ED that Shivshankar was the mastermind behind the gold smuggling racket. The NIA filed the charge sheet in a special court three weeks ago.
The NIA said the suspects formed a terrorist group to undermine the country’s internal financial security. Their main objective was to sever ties between India and the UAE. The NIA alleged that they had widely raised funds for this in India and abroad and recruited people for the gold smuggling ring.
The NIA has formed a special team to probe the terrorist link behind the gold smuggling through the diplomatic channel. The NIA charge sheet states that any act that undermines the economic security of the country is an act of terrorism and that this is exactly what the defendants did. According to the NIA, nine more accused are yet to be named in the case.
