Customs officials early Wednesday escorted former Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan M. Sivasankar home after questioning him for nearly seven hours at its office here.
The examination, held as part of the agency’s probe into the smuggling of gold via air cargo shipments addressed to the consulate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the State capital, set off a ripple of anti-government sentiment in the political sphere and dominated the news cycle for the better part of the day.
Mr. Sivasankar had come under the Customs radar owing to his association with Swapna Suresh, the second accused in the case. She is currently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the national security aspect of the offence. The NIA might question Mr. Sivasankar separately.
Mr. Sivasankar reportedly told investigators he knew Swapna professionally. She had interacted with an array of State government officials, including himself, in her capacity as executive secretary of the Consul General of the UAE. They shared a workplace friendship. Her alleged involvement in gold smuggling had shocked him. He had no clue about her outside office activities.
Officials said the long hours Mr. Sivasankar spent inside the Customs House did not imply that the Customs had any incriminating evidence against him. The probe was still at a nascent stage, and it was too early to assign or repudiate guilt.
Customs enforcers also inspected two houses in Kozhikode and Manjeri. They arrested one person and summoned a few others for questioning in Kochi. In Thiruvananthapuram, Customs officials inspected the flat leased by Mr. Sivasankar.
They also checked the office of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited (KSITIL), a subsidiary of the IT Department, where Swapna had worked briefly as a marketing officer for the Space Park.
Opposition demand
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said the investigation had come awkwardly close to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
Mr. Vijayan had lost the right to continue in his post. Mr. Chennithala said he would move the court for an investigation against the CMO.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president K. Surendran echoed a similar sentiment in Kozhikode. Both leaders indicated that the protests against Mr. Vijayan would intensify.
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