M Sivasankar claims that the Enforcement Directorate had been spreading lies in regards to the investigation against him. The former Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made the argument in his bail petition presented in front of the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court. The latter will make a judgement after studying the bail petition.
In his claim, Sivasankar says that the ED pressurised him to “name political figures that the agency has been targeting”. He alleged that the Directorate initiated arrest procedures after he refused to “comply with their demands”. This has sparked a controversy, especially with the LDF government claiming that the BJP-led Centre is using central agencies to topple them. Sivasankar also adds that the ED has made tall claims regarding what he had “admitted” in the questioning.
The suspended IAS officer said that the Directorate’s claim of him admitting to contacting the Customs officer was a lie. “I had called the Food and Safety officer to allow the blocked food package at the airport, as I was asked by Swapna Suresh,” he said. Moreover, he noted that it was surprising to see how the customs officer faced no investigation. He added that the ED had made differing claims regarding the money discovered from Swapna’s locker. Moreover, the National Investigation Agency and ED have different “explanations for the money”.
The Former Principal Secretary is of the stand that the ED is trying to spread false claims by leaking information to boost media trial. Meanwhile, the Directorate has stated that Sivasankar’s latest arguments haven’t been registered before during the hearing. They believe that this is to mislead the court. Here is the full petition filed by Sivasankar.
