Kerala gold smuggling case: CM's ex-secy moves HC fearing arrest
Synopsis
The move come after the ED -- in its chargesheet submitted to the special PMLA court -- revealed that Sivashankar has aided key accused Swapna Suresh to open a locker facility in Thiruvananthapuram SBI Bank jointly with his own Chartered Accountant P Venugopal.
M Sivasankar, the former principal secretary of the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has approached the High Court for anticipatory bail in the case registered by the Enforcement Directorate in the gold smuggling scandal.
The move come after the ED -- in its chargesheet submitted to the special PMLA court -- revealed that Sivashankar has aided key accused Swapna Suresh to open a locker facility in Thiruvananthapuram SBI Bank jointly with his own Chartered Accountant P Venugopal.
Venugopal, a witness in the gold smuggling case, has revealed explosive details which points towards the involvement of the former bureaucrat.
The ED said that when it confronted Sivashankar with certain Whatsapp chats, he didn't give a proper explanation and appeared evasive.
The chargesheet concludes that in the light of the statements taken by many accused and witness, the role of Sivasankar in the entire episode needs to be thoroughly investigated.
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