Published 18:11 IST, October 27th 2020
Gold smuggling: Chennithala says Sivasankar used Kerala CMO; terms his chats 'shocking'
Ramesh Chennithala alleged that evidence from the gold smuggling probe pointed out that the Kerala Chief Minister's Office had been used by M Sivasankar
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On Tuesday, Kerala opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that evidence from the gold smuggling probe by investigative agencies pointed out that the Kerala Chief Minister's Office had been used by former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar for gold smuggling and hawala transactions. His statement comes at the backdrop of the WhatsApp chats that took place between M. Sivasankar and his C.A Venugopal.
Chennithala termed the chats to be shocking and added that the chats clear out the reasons for their visit to the foreign consulate.
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"The WhatsApp chats that came out of Sivasankar with his Chartered Accountant are shocking. The chats revealed the hand of the former Principal Secretary. After Kerala CMO's close connection of Ministers KT Jaleel and Kadakampally Surendran came out and both Ministers visited the UAE consulate many times. They should make clear why they visited a foreign consulate," he said.
Alleging Sivasankar to be the kingpin in the gold smuggling case, Chennithala stated that Pinarayi Vijayan has no moral authority to continue in the post.
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"The involvement of more and more CPI(M) leaders are being revealed. Sivasankar was the kingpin in the gold smuggling. Now, it has come to light that he was using Kerala CMO to help the gold smuggling accused. Pinarayi Vijayan has no moral authority to continue in the post," he said.
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Sivasankar's WhatsApp Chats revealed
In a new twist in the gold smuggling scam, Republic TV has accessed messages which cast further aspersion on the role of M Sivasankar, the ex-Principal Secretary to the Kerala CM. As per the purported chats between Sivasankar and his chartered accountant Venugopal, the former aide of the Kerala CM advised the latter to "keep quiet" following the arrest of Swapna Suresh and leave Kerala for Nagercoil. The suspended bureaucrat allegedly wrote, "TV channels think Sanal Kumar is the chartered accountant. Just keep quiet. If possible just leave the city and be in Nagercoil or so".
In one such message, he also tried to convince Venugopal that the investigative agency might just array him as a witness. As per the Enforcement Directorate, Venugopal and Suresh opened a joint locker on the instruction of Sivasankar.
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'Kingpin of corruption'
The gold smuggling scam came to the fore when 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. Speaking exclusively to Republic TV on the latest development, RSP MP NK Premachandran cited the ED's argument in the Kerala HC that Sivasankar is the kingpin of corruption. According to him, the ex-Principal Secretary to the Kerala CM had told his CA to leave the stater to avoid media scrutiny. Moreover, he claimed that a Left Front MLA is also involved in the gold smuggling scam.
(With Inputs from ANI)
18:11 IST, October 27th 2020