THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: M Sivasankar, former principal secretary to the Chief Minister and IT secretary has been suspended from service. The decision was made based on the recommendations by a panel chaired by Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta.
Sivasankar violated All India Service rules, said CM Pinarayi Vijayan announcing the decision. The departmental probe against him will continue, said the CM.
Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta had earlier finalised a report that was forwarded to the state government recommending action against Sivasankar for violation of service rules of civil services and practising nepotism in making appointments in the IT department.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had appointed a two member committee comprising the chief secretary and finance secretary to probe the role of Sivasankar.
The panel also probed into the allegations surrounding the appointment of gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh.
Based on the Chief Secretary's report, the government is expected to issue an order suspending M Sivasankar.
The committee has found that there was lack of vigilance on the part of Sivasankar where his relation with the suspects in the gold smuggking case was beyond a professional one.
Moreover, the image of the LDF Government was also affected due to the irresponsible action of Sivasankar which saw the Opposition and the BJP coming up with a slew of allegations against the LDF Government.
The CPM leadership will also be taken into confidence before a final decision on suspension.
57-year-old Sivasankar is a 1995 batch civil servant who had been promoted from the state service.
He was serving as the principal secretary to the Chief Minister and IT secretary when he was linked to the key suspects, Swapna Suresh and Sarith Nair in the gold smuggling case, which saw him being stripped off from the posts.
The Opposition and the BJP have been clamouring for his suspension when the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan maintained that time has not yet come to suspend him.
But now with the enquiry panel submitting their report to the Chief Minister, it is only a matter of hours to see action against the bureaucrat.