Legislator KT Jalil has decided to return around 1,000 copies of the Quran which, according to her, were provided by the UAE consulate two years ago, for distribution in the state.
The import of Quran and the distribution of dates and 1,000 food kits by the UAE consulate during Ramzan during the previous LDF government had created a political furore in the kingdom. There were also allegations that gold was smuggled under the guise of Quran.
The import had attracted the attention of the Customs and Enforcement Directorate, which were probing the diplomatic channel gold smuggling case. The agencies had also arrested some senior officials of the UAE Consulate in gold and US dollars smuggling cases.
Though Mr. Jalil, the then Haj and Waqf Minister, was questioned repeatedly by both the agencies, he was not produced as an accused in any of the cases.
According to Mr Jalil, the decision to return the copies of the Quran, which were kept in two institutions at Edappal and Alathiyur, was taken to avoid unnecessary trouble in those institutions.
If the holy book is distributed in the state, it is likely that the recipients of the copies will be summoned by various investigative agencies. Jalil said two mails to the customs commissioner sought his opinion on whether copies could be delivered or returned to the UAE consulate, Jalil said.
In his social media post, the MLA also shared a Malayalam translation of the letter he had purportedly written to the UAE Consulate, requesting him to withdraw copies.
Mr Jalil said he was unnecessarily targeted by his political opponents for heeding the request of the UAE consulate in a country where millions of Keralites were employed to distribute the Quran.
Swapna summoned
Meanwhile, Swapna Suresh, an accused in the money laundering case registered by the ED, appeared before the probe agency on Tuesday.
Investigating officers have reportedly given Swapna more time to clarify on her recent revelations that she had released some audio clips in connection with the probe on the instructions of top bureaucrat M Sivasankaran.