Gold smuggling: Suspended IAS official quizzed again

Kochi, July 27

Suspended senior IAS officer M Sivasankar was questioned by National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials for the second time in connection with the ongoing probe into the gold smuggling case.

Sivasankar arrived at the NIA office in his vehicle here around 9.20 am after nearly five-hour trip from the state capital.

Security at the NIA office was beefed up and no one, except the media, was allowed to stay put in front of the premises.

Police officials took the IAS officer inside the NIA office and after the mandatory Covid test, he was escorted to a special room for questioning. Sivasankar was also served breakfast before his questioning began.

On July 23, the NIA team had questioned him for five hour at the Peroorkada police club in Thiruvananthapuram.

The questioning came following reports of his close links with some accused in the gold-smuggling case. Sivasankar was removed from the post of Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and IT Secretary and suspended. — Agencies