Controversial IAS officer M Sivasankar has been suspended in connection with a gold smuggling case. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that former IT secretary Shivshankar has been suspended from service pending further investigation. The CM said in a press conference that the action was taken on the basis of a report submitted by a committee chaired by the chief secretary showing that Shivshankar had violated the rules to be followed by a civil service officer.
While working as the Principal Secretary and IT Secretary to the Chief Minister, the accused in the gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh, was removed from his post due to his links. The action was taken after a committee comprising the chief secretary handed over the investigation report on Sivashankar ‘s closeness to the accused to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The government-appointed committee found that Shivshankar had violated the rules to be followed by a civil service officer. The CM said that more details about the report would be clarified later and it was being examined.
Despite the evidence of the accused in the gold smuggling case being closely associated with Sivashankar, the delay in taking action against Sivashankar was a big controversy. So far, the Chief Minister has taken the position that the report of the committee comprising the Chief Secretary and the Secretary to the Finance Department should be submitted.
