Gold smuggling: ED detains ex-secretary of Kerala CM
TH I RU VAN ANT HAP U RAM: Minutes after the Kerala high court rejected his anticipatory bail petition, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which investigates money laundering offences, on Wednesday detained chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s former secretary M Sivasankar in connection with a gold smuggling racket.
Although the chief minister and the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) distanced themselves from the senior Indian Administrative Officer after the smuggling rack et came to light, his detention is a major embarrassment to the government. The opposition Congress and Bhartiya Janata Party stepped up pressure on Vijayan, asking him to quit before central agencies knocks on his door.
Sivasankar was to be produced in the economic offences court in Kochi later in the day, a senior officer, who is part of the multiagency probe into the gold smuggling racket, said. Both the ED and the customs department opposed his anticipatory bail petition, saying he had known about the rack et and benefitted financially from some of the deals brokered by Swap na Sure sh, a former information technology consultant to the state government and a key suspect in the case.
Opposing his bail plea, additional solicitor general of India SV Raju contended that the investigation so far had thrown up indications that he was aware of S ur es h’ s role in the racket and his custodial interrogation was necessary to unearth related aspects. A singlejudge bench headed by justice Ashok Menon dismissed his anticipatory bail plea, observing that he should have been more careful in dealing with such people and directed himto cooperate with the ongoing probe.
The court had stayed his arrest until October 28. Two weeks ago, when customs department personnel tried to detain him, he got himself admitted to a hospital and the court blocked his arrest for some time. The ED approached the court, saying it had collected evidence against him. Sivasankar has been questioned for more than 90 hours by various agencies.
The smuggling racket came to light on July 5 after 30 kg of gold was seized by customs from a package camouflaged as a diplomatic consignment addressed to the United Arab Emirates consulate. P S Sarith Kumar, a former public relations officer of the consulate who came to receive the luggage, was arrested by customs. Two other suspects, Suresh, and her accomplice Sandip Nair were arrested from a hideout in Bengaluru five days later. Sivasankar was suspended after his alleged links with Suresh surfaced.
A multi-agency team comprising the NIA, ED, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the customs and income tax departments is probing the case and 32 people have been arrested so far.
State high education minister K T Jaleel was also grilled in connection with one of the consignments that was brought in March. But the minister said the consignment carried only religious books. After grilling him twice, investigators are yet to give him a clean chit.
Soon after Sivasankar’s arrest, the opposition demanded the CM’s resignation. “Pinarayi Vijayan knew about smuggling. He can’t get away sacrificing his secretary. We want him to resign,” said leader of the opposition in Kerala , Ramesh Chennithala.