THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister K T Jaleel has come out to with his explanation over the exposure of call details of gold smuggling case accused Swapna and Sarith.

The minister said he had called Swapna as requested by Consulate General and he had never called her at odd hours. He said he had the screen shots of messages exchanged as proof of this.

“During the Ramzan period we usually distribute food kits. On May 27, 2020, I got a call from the official phone number of UAE consulate general. The caller said that there were some food kits with them and he could send them to us for distribution. He also asked me to inform him if there was any requirement.

When I asked him how he was going to arrange it, he conveyed the message that Swapna would contact me. I contacted her only after this. Later I received around 1000 food kits and they were distributed among the people. It was UAE consulate that had transferred money to Consumerfed,” the minister said.

According to reports, Jaleel contacted Swapna nine times. Besides this, the accused contacted his personal staff Nazar over phone a number of times. Nazar said he was not aware about Sarith’s expulsion from Consulate and he had visited Jaleel’s office.