Gold smuggling case: Suspended IAS official questioned by NIA for second time

Kochi: Suspended senior IAS officer M Sivasankar is being questioned by the National Investigation Agency officials here for the second time in connection with the ongoing probe into the gold smuggling case, sources said on Monday, July 27.

He was served notice to appear before the probe team at the premier investigation agency’s office here after his five-hour-long questioning by the NIA team on July 23 at the Peroorkada police club in Thiruvananthapuram.

After his close links with some accused in the gold smuggling case surfaced, Sivasankar was removed as the principal secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and IT secretary and later suspended.

The senior bureaucrat was questioned by Customs, which is also probing the case, for nearly nine hours, lasting till the early hours of July 15.

The action was taken against Sivasankar after allegations surfaced that he had links with the woman accused in the case related to the attempt to smuggle gold through diplomatic baggage using the name of a person in the UAE consulate Thiruvananthapuram.

The Customs seized the gold, weighing over 30 kg and valued at around Rs 15 crore on July 5. The National Investigation Agency, which has been entrusted with the probe into the case, has booked four accused– Sarith, Swapna Suresh, Sandeep Nair, and Faizal Fareed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.