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Gold smuggling case: ED summons Kerala CM’s secy for fourth time
Raveendran was first summoned by the ED last month, but he could not appear before it after he tested positive for Covid-19.
The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s additional private secretary CM Raveendran on Thursday for questioning in connection with the gold smuggling case.
This is the fourth time he was getting summoned from the central agency. He was first summoned by the ED last month, but he could not appear before it after he tested positive for Covid-19. Later he kept away complaining post-covid complications. He was discharged from Thiruvananthapuram medical college hospital last week.
Raveendran has moved the High Court for anticipatory bail. He said he was not an accused in any case and accused the central agency for unnecessarily troubling him.
Another former aide to the CM, senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, M Sivasankar, is already in judicial custody in connection with the case. Raveendran was summoned on the basis of the statement given by Sivasankar, said a senior official of the multi-agency probe team who requested anonymity.
Earlier, opposition Congress and the BJP had expressed serious doubts over his hospitalisation saying it was a ploy to bunk grilling. Considered close to CM Vijayan, Raveendran, a party leader hailing from north Kerala, had served under many ministries earlier. When Sivasankar was arrested in October, the government quickly distanced itself from him but in Raveendran’s case, it is difficult to disown him, said political observers.
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Last week the CM had defended his secretary, saying he was keeping away from questioning due to ill-health. He said the central agencies can’t do anything against him as “he holds a good track record.” He had criticised central agencies saying their priorities were different and they were acting as per the script prepared by their masters in Delhi.
After the gold smuggling case surfaced, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) suffered one setback after another in recent months. Former Communist Party of India (Marxist) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s son Bineesh Kodiyeri is in jail in connection with a Bengaluru drug haul. Balakrishnan was forced to leave his post later.
More trouble is in store for Balakrishnan after the Mumbai police on Tuesday filed a charge-sheet against his first son Binoy Kodiyeri who is facing a sexual assault and breach of trust case. A Mumbai-based former dancer in Dubai had filed a case against him last year saying he had allegedly fathered her son on the pretext of marrying her and later ditched her. Later the court had ordered a DNA test to prove paternity.
The gold smuggling racket came to light on July 5 after the seizure of 30 kilograms of gold from a consignment addressed to the United Arab Emirates consulate in the state capital. A multi-agency team headed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing the case and 34 people have been arrested so far.
During the investigation in the smuggling case, agencies also came across alleged irregularities and payment of commissions in some government pet projects, including the Life Mission housing scheme and the Kerala Fibre Optic Network. Last month, the ED wrote to the state chief secretary, seeking details of the projects, angering the state government.
