Admitted to ICU amid Customs heat, Kerala CM's ex-aide Sivasankar's condition stable

As per the latest medical bulletin issued on Saturday, former Principal Secretary to Kerala CM M Sivasankar's health condition has been reported to be stable. The suspended bureaucrat was admitted to a private hospital near Karamana in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday evening when he developed uneasiness while being taken to the Customs office. While acknowledging that Sivasankar's blood pressure was "very high" on arrival, the hospital stated that his angiogram was normal. 

He had reportedly complained of giddiness and back pain at the time of admission. The Nephrology team attributed his back pain to the compressions of spinal roots. However, the hospital in which Sivasankar's wife works as a nephrologist, also clarified that a second opinion had been sought in this regard. The ex-Principal Secretary to the CM's admission to the hospital came amid speculation that the Customs was planning to arrest him in a case pertaining to alleged smuggling of 1.90 lakh dollars abroad. On October 15, the Kerala High Court restrained the ED from arresting the suspended IAS officer till October 23.

Read: CBI Approaches High Court To Quash Stay Order Issued To Probe Life Mission In Kerala

Alleged involvement in smuggling

The Life Mission is the Kerala government's flagship housing scheme for all the landless and homeless in the state. The target of the mission is to provide safe housing to nearly 4.30 lakh homeless people in Kerala within a span of 5 years. Swapna Suresh, the accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case, allegedly received a commission from the builder who was assigned the contract of the Life Mission project at Wadakkanchery.

Reportedly, Sivasankar helped Suresh in coercing a private bank to convert the commission money into US dollars. The Customs department suspects that the money was transported abroad during the suspended bureaucrat's foreign trips where he was accompanied by Suresh. As per sources, Sivasankar had not sought the necessary permissions for foreign travel from the Centre. 

Read: Kerala Gold Scam: Sivasankar's 'illegal' Foreign Travel Could Put Him In Trouble: Sources

Sivasankar's suspension

The gold smuggling scam came to the fore when the Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport on July 5 from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate. Sivasankar's suspension was announced by Vijayan on July 16 based on the recommendations by a state government-appointed two-member committee probing his role in this scam. It was reportedly found that he had violated the All-India Services Conduct rules due to his connections with the accused. The suspended bureaucrat allegedly played a key role in the appointment of Swapna Suresh as operations manager in the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited. 

Read: 'Directly Linked To CM's Office': BJP Puts Vijayan In Dock Over Kerala Gold Smuggling Scam

(Image credits: PTI)