Shashi Tharoor’s PA captured at Delhi Airport to connect with the Gold Smuggling Case!
Delhi Customs arrested two individuals, including Shashi Tharoor’s former personal assistant, Shiv Kumar Prasad, in a gold smuggling case at Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Prasad, found with around 500 grams of gold, was reportedly there to receive a passenger from Dubai. Both men were detained when the passenger attempted to hand the gold to Prasad. Prasad, who has an aerodrome entry permit, was apprehended within the airport premises during the handover. The incident has prompted an ongoing investigation. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticized both the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) following the detention. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar commented on social media, highlighting the incident as indicative of alleged misconduct among the parties. He referred to similar past controversies involving gold smuggling linked to the Congress and CPM, who are part of the INDI alliance. Shashi Tharoor responded to the incident while campaigning in Dharamshala, distancing himself from wrongdoing.
He emphasized that Prasad, a 72-year-old retiree undergoing frequent dialysis, had been assisting him part-time with airport facilitation out of compassion. Tharoor stated his support for the legal process and any necessary actions taken by authorities. This incident echoes a 2020 gold smuggling scandal in Kerala, where 30 kilograms of gold were seized from a diplomatic bag at Thiruvananthapuram Airport. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the case, which led to the suspension of M Sivasankar, the principal secretary to Kerala’s Chief Minister, due to alleged connections to the accused. The incident has added tension to the political landscape, particularly in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, where BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Congress’s Shashi Tharoor are vital contenders. Voting in Kerala’s 20 Lok Sabha constituencies and 88 others across 13 states concluded on April 26 during the second phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
[Image Source: Swadesh]
