New information emerge and old claims are solidified in the counter-affidavit filed by the Enforcement Directorate with the Kerala High Court challenging suspended IAS officer M Sivasankar’s bail plea. The ED claims that the Rs 1 crore found in Swapna Suresh’s lockers is indeed the commission given to Sivasankar by Unitac in the Life Mission project.
The ED had earlier alleged that Sivasankar — former Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan — had received the commission after assigning 26 of the 28 projects to just two companies. In their latest affidavit to the HC, they note that Swapna Suresh has admitted to the money being a commission for Sivasankar. The Directorate added that it was why the locker was jointly owned by Sivasankar’s chartered accountant P Venugopal and Swapna.
Moreover, the ED has noted that Sivasankar has been aware of the gold smuggling and that he has been helping Swapna to bypass official hurdles using his official powers. The agency is repeating the claims they had filed in the trial court for Sivasankar’s prior bail pleas. They added that Sivasankar assisted Swapna with the smuggling 21 times until it was finally caught.
However, a while ago, Swapna Suresh, who is lodged in the Attakulangara Women’s Prison in Thiruvananthapuram, has alleged in a controversial audio clip that a few ED officials had offered her to become approver if she took Pinarayi Vijayan’s name in the case. This has kicked up a row, especially with Swapna admitting that it was her voice in the clip but doesn’t know where it was recorded.
