Kerala : IAS Shivshankar Got Relief ! Government Withdraws Suspension, Was in Jail for Smuggling Gold Case
Kerala/New Delhi : The Kerala Government on Tuesday withdrew the suspension of senior state IAS officer M Sivashankar. He was convicted a few months back in a high profile gold smuggling case and was jailed for three months.
The former principal secretary in the Kerala Chief Minister’s Office was suspended two years ago after around 30 kg of gold worth ₹14.82 crore being smuggled through the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, which had been cleared by the customs department and that was seized and M Shivshankar’s relationship with the main accused Swapna Suresh came to the fore. The incident that shook the Pinarayi Vijayan government in its last term was probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Customs Department.
The ED later arrested the former top bureaucrat and he spent nearly three months in jail. Earlier, Chief Secretary VP Joy had recommended his reinstatement. His post will be decided later.
