KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate will await a response from C M Raveendran before deciding on further action after the additional private secretary to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan failed to turn up for questioning, again, after fresh summons were issued by the agency, which is probing the money-laundering angle in the Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling case.
According to agency sources, they were awaiting a response from Raveendran about his health status and further summons would be issued if he informs that he is fit to appear for questioning. Raveendran was supposed to appear at ED’s Kochi office, on Friday, but he skipped summons for a second time reportedly after getting himself admitted to the medical college hospital in the state capital.
Apart from media reports about him getting discharged from a hospital where he got admitted the other day, ED is yet to get a formal communication on his health status, they said.
After receiving an update on his health status he would be called in again, an official said. Though Raveendran was first summoned by ED in the first week of November, he failed to appear after reportedly testing positive for Covid-19.
Key accused Swapna Suresh had, in a statement, told ED that Raveendran used to contact her occasionally on matters such as visa stamping and certificate attestation. The agency, according to sources, is checking if the communication between the two was purely official.
Meanwhile, even as reports emerged of ED raids on some business establishments in Vadakara, sources refused to confirm whether these were in connection with the ongoing investigation.
Customs questions trio
The custodial interrogation of IAS officer M Sivasankar, in the gold smuggling case, and that of Swapna and Sarith P S, in the currency export case, by customs continued on Friday. The three were placed in customs custody on Wednesday and will have to be produced back in court on Monday.
Apart from stating that Swapna had, in a statement given under Section 108 of Customs Act, revealed that Sivasankar was in the know and also abetted smuggling activities, customs is yet to present any details in court on how Sivasankar was also involved.
‘CM not above suspicion’Speaking to reporters in Alappuzha, minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan said the central government does not intend to target anyone who is not found to have a role in the gold smuggling. The government has not told investigative agencies to move against particular people,” he said, in direct reference to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Muraleedharan said the investigation is on track and the CM is still not above suspicion as his former principal secretary is a key target of the probe. I am also sceptical about the health condition of his additional secretary, he said.
Raveendran discharged from MCH
Thiruvananthapuram: C M Raveendran, additional private secretary to the chief minister, who was undergoing treatment at the medical college hospital, here, for post-Covid-19 complications, was discharged on Friday evening.
Raveendran was admitted on Wednesday after he complained of respiratory problems. He has been advised rest and follow-up treatment.
This had allowed him to skip ED summons for questioning – a second time -- on Friday morning. Opposition parties alleged that he was evading questioning out of fear that he might be arrested if he appeared before the agency.
- With inputs from Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha