KOCHI: Nine suspense-filled hours went by on Monday as speculation was rife about the possible outcome of the National Investigation Agency’s interrogation of M Sivasankar, the former principal secretary of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The marathon questioning over the smuggling of gold through the diplomatic channel, however, had an anti-climactic end as the former IT secretary left the NIA office in Kochi in his own car just after 7pm.
The drama is far from over as officers asked Sivasankar to appear before them again at the NIA office at 10am on Tuesday, preparing the ground for a third round of questioning by the central agency. NIA sleuths are learnt to have interrogated the senior bureaucrat on his links with the accused duo of Swapna Suresh and Sarith P S on the basis of digital evidence collected from them. Apparently, the officers sought the details of the apartments near the Secretariat where the conspiracy was allegedly hatched.
Having started from his residence in Thiruvananthapuram around 4.30am, Sivasankar reached the NIA office at Girinagar in Kochi around 9.20am. The chauffeur-driven car, in which he had a relative for company, did not stop en route even as television media vehicles chased them all the way. The interrogation, which started around 10am, was held in the presence of NIA SP Rahul S and other top officers.
From the NIA office, Sivasankar headed straight to the office of his lawyer S Rajeev. But he did not get out of his car and spoke to the lawyer over phone. After 10 minutes, Sivasankar reached a hotel at Panampilly Nagar to spend the night.“He was unaware of the smuggling activities and has no involvement in the case. He may become a witness, which is the NIA’s decision. We have full faith in the NIA probe and will cooperate with the agency,” Rajeev told reporters.
Sealed box leads to speculation
As the interrogation was proceeding at the NIA office, the chief investigation officer of the case — DSP C Radhakrishna Pillai — was stuck at the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Economic Offences) and the NIA Court to complete other procedures. He arrived at the Magistrate Court around 11.30am to get permission to arrest the fifth accused K T Rameez. After receiving the permission, at 1.30pm, he went to the NIA Court to complete other procedures as part of receiving Rameez in custody. He returned to NIA office around 3.30pm.
Around 3pm, a Customs vehicle arrived at the NIA office and an officer came out holding a sealed box. Initially, it was claimed the box contained details of the Customs investigation into the case and the statement Sivasankar gave the agency two weeks ago. However, Customs officers later said the box had nothing to do with the bureaucrat.Last Thursday, NIA had interrogated Sivasankar for five hours at Thiruvananthapuram. Later, he was issued a notice to appear for further interrogation at its Kochi office. NIA had also sought CCTV visuals of Sivasankar’s office at the Secretariat.
NIA collects video footage
NIA collects video footage from the Secretariat in connection with its probe into the gold smuggling case
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