Customs to question Sivasankar today

Kochi: The Customs will question M Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to the Kerala chief minister, on Monday.

The agency would question Sivasankar about the Rs 1 crore seized from the bank locker of Swapna Suresh, an accused in the gold smuggling case. It is crucial for the Customs to know who this money actually belongs to.

A team headed by Customs superintendent Vivek Vasudevan Nair, the probe officer, will question Sivasankar at the district jail in Kakkanad.

As per the findings of both the Customs and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the cash seized from the bank locker was the money Swapna received for aiding gold smuggling. The NIA had seized the money from the bank locker.

However, the affidavit submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the court last week contradicted this finding. The ED contended that the money seized from the locker was the kickback that Sivasankar had received for the Life Mission project, a state government initiative.

While opposing Sivasankar's bail plea, the ED also said that he was the brain behind the gold smuggling.

If the ED's contention of bribe is accepted, then it would be a setback to the Customs' move to arraign Sivasankar as an accused in the gold smuggling case.

The bribe over a State project cannot be linked to gold smuggling.

Now, the Customs would have to probe the ED's contention that Sivasankar was aware of the gold smuggling and that he had contacted the Customs' official.

The Customs is likely to question Swapna again.