Life Mission case: Court extends former principal secretary M Sivasankar's remand to August 5; Read details

A special court in Kochi extended the remand of the former principal secretary to the Chief Minister and accused in the Life Mission scam case M Sivasankar to August 5. At the same time, the bail of Swapna Suresh, one of the prime accused, has also been extended.

Kochi: A court extended the former principal secretary to Chief Minister and accused M Sivasankar's remand to August 5 on Thursday (June 23) in the Life Mission scam case. The case involves the misappropriation of Rs 4.5 crore of the Rs 19 crore that the UAE-based NGO Red Crescent offered to build a housing complex for flood victims.

At the same time, the court extended the bail of Swapna Suresh, one of the main accused in the Life Mission embezzlement case. The court directed Swapna to make herself available for questioning by the probe team as and when needed. Later today, the bail application of PS Sarith, another accused in the case, will be considered. 

Additionally, the court reprimanded the Enforcement Directorate for failing to detain Swapna and Sarith during the initial stages of the investigation. The court questioned, "Why weren't they detained when Sivasankar was taken into custody."

The ED in April filed the chargesheet in a special court in Kochi. The chargesheet also names Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the high-profile gold smuggling case, as the second accused. According to the findings of ED, M Sivasankar is the mastermind behind Life Mission's black money transactions. It is alleged that Sivasankar violated the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act in the Life Mission project. The ED has arrested only Sivasankar and Unitac Builders MD Santhosh Eapen in the case.

A home project in Wadakkanchery, Thrissur, was funded by the UAE-based charitable organization Red Crescent as part of the Life Mission Project. The Enforcement Directorate discovered that the aid contained FERA violations and that Eappen had reportedly paid middlemen—including allegedly state lawmakers and government officials—a payment of Rs 4.5 crore in order to have his company selected for the construction project.