Kerala CM’s Ex-Principal Secretary Sivasankar To Be Produced In Court Today

The ED case today on Wednesday has claimed that Sivasankar and other have made undue monetary gain for kickbacks in the awarding contract for the construction of houses under LIFE mission scheme.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will produce M Sivasankar, the former principal Secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, before the Sessions court & Ernakulam District after his arrest a day ago in connection with the LIFE Mission project’s investigation.

Pertaining to the State Government’s Life Mission Project that intended to provide homes for needy who lost their houses in 2018 floods. The House project was projected at Vaddakanchery in Thrissur district.

The project was intended to build houses for 140 families in Vadakkanchery by spending ₹14.50 crore out of ₹18.50 crore which is therefore granted by the Red Crescent through the UAE consulate. Therefore, the contract notes the construction of health care centre using the amount remained.   

Santhosh Eapan, (Managing director of UNITAC), the construction firm selected for house construction under the Life Mission project that informed ED case accused that include Swapna Suresh that received bribe worth ₹4.48 crore for the project. In the case Swapna Suresh & Sarith PS have alleged that Sivasankar had a role in this and retired from service in January this year.

The former bureaucrat was arrested by the Customs Department in October 2020 on charges of gold smuggling from Dubai using the diplomatic channel. It come to light after 30 kg of gold worth ₹14.82 crore smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by the Customs in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5, 2019. He was later released on bail.