Filing an affidavit against M Sivasankar’s bail petition with the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Economic Offences) Court, Customs notes that the “granting of bail to the petitioner at a momentous stage of the investigation, will be wholly injurious to the smooth progress of the investigation”.
Apart from the mobile phone that Sivasankar had been using, the Customs believed that he had in his possession two other phones. However, the former bureaucrat had denied its existence when the Customs official had asked him about it. In their latest affidavit, the Customs submitted that they had recovered two phones through Sivasankar’s wife, and added that this is an example of how the suspended IAS officer is not forthcoming in the questioning.
The Customs has claimed, in the affidavit, that Sivasankar, who was the former Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, was a former high ranking member and enjoyed certain clout and influence. They added that the suspended IAS officer also used that influence to assist Swapna Suresh in the gold smuggling case. Moreover, they claimed that Sivasankar has not been wholly forthcoming in the questioning.
A copy of the full affidavit filed by the Customs is given below.
