Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 18 (IANS): Rishiraj Singh, Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, Kerala, is a man known for his tough positions and on Wednesday he proved it yet again when he asked state BJP President K. Surendran to either withdraw his statement, or get ready to face legal action.

Since the gold smuggling case surfaced on July 5, Surendran has been going hammer and tong against the ruling Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left government and on Wednesday, he said that hundreds of people have by now visited Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the gold smuggling case, presently lodged in jail.

He said that on the first day, 15 people had visited her including those close to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Finance Minister Thomas Issac.

Reacting sharply to this statement, Singh said that none other than her mother, husband, children and brother had visited her in the jail.

In a letter to Surendran, Singh asked him not to spread baseless allegations against the jail department and if he didn't withdraw his statement, legal steps would be initiated against him.