Kochi: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar was remanded to five-day ED custody by the PMLA Court here on Wednesday.

The Enforcement Directorate had sought custody claiming Sivasankar was not cooperating with questioning in the Life Mission corruption case. The ED had arrested him on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, Sivasankar complained that he was questioned by the sleuths for 12 hours from the time he was arrested. The court has directed the ED to not quiz Sivasankar for more than 2 hours at a stretch. The court has also told the agency to provide him with medical assistance if needed.

Sivasankar will be produced before the court on Monday. The Life Mission case emerged after the gold smuggling case came to light in June 2020, in which Sivasankar was jailed.

The Life Mission project was introduced by the state government to provide houses for the poor at Wadakkanchery in Thrissur.

In 2020, the CBI filed an FIR based on a corruption complaint by then Wadakancherry MLA Anil Akkara.