Police raid GST Inspector’s quarters with magistrate’s warrant in Gold Smuggling Case

The standoff between the police and the Commissionerate of Central GST, Excise, and Customs over an investigation into gold smuggling through the Calicut International Airport took a new turn on Saturday, when a police team led by DySP Moosa Vallikkadan raided the home of a GST inspector in Kozhikode.

The raid on GST inspector Sandeep Nain’s quarters this time was conducted with a magistrate’s warrant. Furthermore, the police squad is said to have discovered nothing incriminating at Mr. Nain’s apartments.

On October 12, police raided Mr. Nain’s quarters, confiscated his mobile phone and automobile, and detained him as part of an investigation into a gold smuggling ring including Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Assistant Commandant Naveen. Mr. Nain and Mr. Naveen are both from Haryana and are pals.

The Central GST Commissionerate was enraged by the police action on October 12 because the officers did not follow legal procedures. GST Commissioner Manish Chandra discussed the issue with the State Police’s senior command and threatened to sue the police for their “illegal action.”

The police squad probing the gold smuggling ring, led by District Police Chief Sujith Das S., was put under scrutiny as the police high brass began questioning their activities. Mr. Sujith Das had told his superior that the police team had taken Mr. Nain out in a pleasant manner and that no raid had been done on October 12.

Last Monday, the police told the High Court that Mr. Nain was not an accused in the case involving the CISF assistant commandant, and that they had no plans to arrest him.

The police raid on Mr. Nain’s quarters on Saturday was widely interpreted as an attempt to “legalise” the prior activities that had irritated the GST Commissionerate.

On Saturday, the Kondotty DySP also handed Mr. Nain with a notice to remove his car with the registration number HR08-N2799 from the Kondotty Police Station within two days. The DySP stated in the notification that it had been lying at the police station since October 12. The DySP further warned Mr. Nain with further action if he did not return it within two days.

Mr. Nain’s car was taken from his quarters by police on October 12 and he received no seizure memo. The cops had no idea how the automobile ended up at the Kondotty police station. And it was a matter of egos for the police to return the automobile to where it had been taken, and for the GST inspector to return it to the police station.