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Kerala CM’s former principal secretary suspended
Thiruvananthapuram:
Thiruvananthapuram:
The Kerala government on Thursday suspended chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s former principal secretary M Sivasankar, a senior Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer, for violating service rules.
Making the announcement, the CM said the action was taken on the basis of an inquiry report that pointed to lapses on Sivasankar’s part. “Inquiry report pointed out that there are some lapses on his part and he violated all-India service rules,” said the CM.
The inquiry was conducted by a two-member panel headed by chief secretary Viswas Mehta.
Sivasankar was removed from the post of the CM’s principal secretary last week after allegations that he was close to Swapna Suresh, one of the key accused in the gold smuggling case.
He was questioned by the customs department for several hours on Wednesday. However, officials found some discrepancies in his statement and he has been called in for questioning again, people familiar with the matter said.
He is likely to be arrested soon, the people said.
The customs department seized 30 kg gold from a consignment which came in the name of an official of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) consulate in Thiruvananthapuram on June 5. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the case and several other central agencies are also probing the case.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs has cancelled the passport of Faisal Fareed, the third accused in the case, who is reported to be in the UAE.
