Lok Sabha: Sivasankar was reinstated without nod from Central agencies

New Delhi: The Central investigation agencies had not given permission to reinstate M Sivasankar, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who was arrested alleging involvement in the diplomatic baggage gold smuggling case, in Kerala.

The Central Government was responding to a question in the Lok Sabha on whether it had permitted to reinstate the officer alleged to have a close association with the key accused in the case.

Lok Sabha MPs N K Premachandran and Adoor Prakash had asked the Central Government to explain its stand on this case. However, the answer was on the investigation agencies. Premachandran said he would seek clarity on the same.

Pankaj Choudary, Union Minister of State for Finance, said follow-up investigations would be conducted in the context of fresh ‘revelations’ by the key accused in the gold smuggling case in Kerala, and that action would be initiated based on the evidence collected.

As there was no evidence against the three persons arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) earlier, their names have been removed from the chargesheet.

Sivasankar is the 29th accused as per the Customs chargesheet.

Kerala Chief Minister's Office had revoked the suspension of the senior bureaucrat in January. Sivasankar had been suspended for a year and five months for his alleged involvement in the high-profile gold smuggling case that rocked the state during the term of the previous Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government.

The suspension of Sivasankar, who has less than a year left in service, had been earlier extended twice.