The Directorate of Enforcement detained former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s chief secretary M. Sivasankar on Wednesday for questioning regarding the prospect of money laundering from the gold smuggling case linked to the UAE consulate.
His arrest was recorded around 10:15 p.m. after nearly seven hours of questioning by the investigation team at the agency’s office here. Mr. Sivasankar will appear before the Main Court of Sessions, Ernakulam. Thursday.
Advance bond
The day’s drama unfolded after the Kerala High Court rejected his early bail in the morning. Two officials from the emergency department arrived at the private Ayurveda hospital where Mr. Sivasankar was being treated for chronic back pain and issued him a summons for further questioning at the agency’s Kochi office.
Theatrical “arrest”
The agency approached Mr. Sivasankar immediately after it emerged that the Kerala High Court had rejected his request for bail.
A phalanx of news reporters and television cameramen had positioned themselves in front of the hospital in anticipation of the imminent arrest of Mr. Sivasankar.
The embattled bureaucrat appeared stoic and refused to answer journalists’ questions as he emerged from the hospital flanked by plainclothes officers. Emergency Department agents were quick to drive him in his official car to his office in Kochi.
NIA’s role
The decision of the National Investigation Agency in July to investigate the gold smuggling case under the provisions of the Illegal Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967, had set in motion a chain of events that shook the government of the Democratic Front. Left (LDF).
Mr. Sivasankar was widely recognized as the face of the Chief Minister’s Office (OCM) and Mr. Vijayan’s closest confidante. The recurrently televised view of the emergency department that was detaining him seemed not to have boded well for the government’s public image. They also appeared to have catalyzed the demand from Congress and the Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) for the resignation of Mr. Vijayan.
PMLA and UAPA angles
The DE suspected that Mr. Sivasankar had assisted the accused Swapna Suresh gold smuggling case by hiding the vast proceeds of the crime in lockers and bank accounts. Swapna had allegedly taken part of the loot to Dubai in foreign currency, and Mr. Sivasankar had accompanied her on some of the trips.
The DE believed that the illegal proceeds were reinvested in the gold smuggling operation spearheaded by individuals with suspicious ties to radical organizations at home and abroad.
Hence, the agency wanted to question him under articles 16, 17 and 18 of the UAPA. The provisions refer to the collection of funds, directly or indirectly, for anti-national activities and include crimes that endanger the economic security of the country.
Illegal acts under the UAPA are also “programmed” crimes under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The official said the Department of Education would examine whether Mr. Sivasankar’s “level of guilt”, if at all, in the matter. So far, neither DE nor Customs have registered a case against Mr. Sivasankar. He continued to be a person of interest.
The NIA has shown interest in examining the report of Mr. Sivasankar’s interrogation to find out if it reveals any recognizable offenses under UAPA provisions.
Demand for resignation from CM
The arrest of Mr. Sivasankar appeared to have further catalyzed the demand from Congress and the Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) for Mr. Vijayan’s resignation. Both sides have vowed to reactivate aggressive street protests if Mr. Vijayan refused to resign.
The opposition leader, Ramesh Chennithala, said that Mr. Sivasankar had simply carried out Mr. Vijayan’s orders. The CM was unable to absolve itself of the crime. Mr. Vijayan had allowed Mr. Sivasankar to use the weight of his office to help economic and anti-national criminals. He had lost the moral right to continue in office.
Kerala Pradesh Congressional Committee Chairman Mullapally Ramachandran and PK Krishnadas, National Secretary General of the BJP, demanded that Mr. Vijayan resign immediately. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) had yet to react to development.
The government rejects the demand
Justice Minister AK Balan said there was no basis or precedent for the chief minister to resign because a former bureaucrat attached to his office was under a cloud of suspicion. The government had asked the NIA to investigate the case. It had given its full support to the central agencies. Congress and the BJP were trying to politicize the issue ahead of the local body elections by putting up a smokescreen of lies to throw the government under a cloud of suspicion. The opposition wanted to overshadow the achievements of the LDF government, he said.
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