THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has launched a probe to find if the Chief Minister’s Office was compromised in any way in assisting the accused in the smuggling case. The probe is being carried out by Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta and Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Rajesh Kumar Singh to find how Swapna Suresh managed to get a plum posting in a project under the IT department using a fake degree certificate.
She was appointed in Space Park Projects under Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Ltd (KSITIL) . The findings would be significant as the future action on M Sivasankar, who was KSITIL chairman, hinges on the report. Though there were reports that he could be suspended, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said he needed more proof. “Sivasankar should not have gotten involved with the woman. So we removed him from the post,” he said.
The probe is also going to be crucial for consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) which advised the government in Space Park and e-mobility projects. the CM hinted the firm could face blacklisting. KSITIL MD C Jayasankarprasad has already filed a complaint accusing PwC and headhunting agency Vision Technology and Staffing Solutions Pvt Ltd for Swapna’s appointment in Space Park Project. Pinarayi also dismissed Opposition UDF’s move to bring in a resolution against Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan for his alleged links with the accused. He said the Speaker should not have been dragged into the controversy just because he inaugurated a shop belonging to the accused.
There was no reason to doubt Swapna: Chief mInister
Chief MInister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government was unaware of Swapna’s departure to Bengaluru. “As per media reports, she left two days before triple lockdown was announced in Thiruvananthapuram on July 6. There was no need for registering on Covid Jagratha portal for people going out of the state,” he said. He said they had no reason to check her credentials as she was part of the UAE Consulate and used to accompany the UAE Consulate General. There was no reason to doubt her, he said. He said monitoring of such officials comes under the ambit of Central agencies.