THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Principal Secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, M. Sivasankar was on Thursday suspended from service over his role in the gold smuggling case that rocked the State. A two-member committee headed by the Chief Secretary was asked to look into the allegations against Sivasankar and it had earlier in the day submitted its report to Vijayan.
"The report has been received and it has been found that there was violation of All India Service rules by him and hence he has been suspended from service and a departmental probe will also take place," said Vijayan.
Sivasankar early this week was first removed as secretary and also from the post of IT secretary after news trickled in of his closeness to the now arrested duo of Swapna Suresh and P.S. Sarith.
The gold smuggling case which has large scale ramifications across sectors first surfaced when Sarith, a former employee of the UAE consulate here was arrested by the Customs on July 5 when he was facilitating smuggling of 30 kg of gold in diplomatic baggage to Thiruvananthapuram from Dubai.
It turned murkier when the name of Swapna, a former employee of the UAE consulate here and employed with the IT department, surfaced and it turned the full circle when their links with Sivasankar were revealed. (IANS)
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