Kochi/Thiruvananthapuram: Suspended IAS officer M Sivasankar, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case linked to gold smuggling, was sent to seven-day custody by the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court on Thursday.
The ED informed the court that Sivasankar is the fifth accused in the case and requested a 14-day custody. The ED also pointed out that Sivasankar was not fully cooperating with the investigation by withholding answers to key questions. Sivasankar has denied this allegation.
However, the counsel appearing for the civil servant argued that the bureaucrat is in need of medical attention as he had been suffering from severe back pain. He said the probe agencies had Sivasankar discharged from the hospital when taking him into custody.
Announcing its decision to grant custody, the court prescribed a slew of measures such as allowing Sivasankar sufficient rest and medical assistance during ED interrogation.
The court restricted Sivasankar's time of questioning between 9am and 6pm and directed the probe agency to allow him to rest after this period.
The court also granted the bureaucrat permission to continue his Ayurvedic treatment provided it did not interfere with the questioning.
Sivasankar was allowed to meet his wife, son and brother during the custody period. His next bail application will be considered on November 4.
Sivasankar, former principal secretary to the Kerala chief minister, has been slapped with charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for which he can be imprisoned for up to seven years.
Sivasankar was detained by the ED on Wednesday, minutes after the Kerala High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea. Sivasankar was then taken from a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram from where he had been getting medical assistance after complaining of severe backpain, to the ED office in Kochi. The arrest was recorded around 9pm on Wednesday after six more hours of questioning.
ED assistant director P Radhakrishnan led the interrogation of Sivasankar over allegedly making arrangements for Swapna Suresh, an accused in the gold smuggling case, to stash the money she received through illegal means in the bank locker. Customs officials were also present for questioning.
Sivasankar did not reportedly give satisfactory answers to the officials, who presented digital evidence. This led to the arrest.
The arrest was recorded in the presence of ED Special Director P Susheel Kumar, who arrived from Chennai, and Joint Director Ganesh Kumar. Special prosecutor T A Unnikrishnan was also present at the ED office. A relative of Sivasankar was also summoned to the office.
Next, the Customs will question Sivasankar in the case over allegedly helping Swapna smuggle foreign currencies abroad.
When the Customs had taken Sivasankar in custody on October 16 to question in this case, he had sought medical treatment at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. He also approached the High Court for anticipatory bail.
Sivasankar remained impassive
The ED officials had made elaborate plans to detain Sivasankar if his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the HC. Two teams were in Thiruvananthapuram from Tuesday itself.
As soon as the HC rejected the bail plea, two officers reached the hospital and informed the authorities about the need to detain him immediately.
As Sivasankar, wearing a polo-shirt and pants, was being taken away by the ED officials, mediapersons crowded around him. But an impassive Sivasankar did not make any comment to questions of whether he was being arrested. With his head bowed, Sivasankar left in the car.
The team en route to Kochi stopped at Cherthala to have lunch from a hotel. Sivasankar reached the ED office in Kochi by 3:20pm.
Sivasankar, who appeared forlorn, did not react to the journalists' questions in Kochi either.
Soon after the arrest, Sivasankar was taken to the Ernakulam General Hospital for the medical tests. He looked tired after undergoing procedures since morning, and was seen resting his head on the table several times.
Sivasankar spent the night at the ED office.
Plan B of Customs
The Customs too had planned to take Sivasankar into custody if the ED faced any obstacle. Though the Customs had initially planned to take Sivasankar in custody first, they backed off after the ED said they needed some answers for further probe.
Both the Customs and the Enforcement Directorate had made it clear that Sivasankar would have to be taken into custody for questioning. This was also conveyed to the HC.
The court, while rejecting the bail plea, had made serious observations against Sivasankar.
