THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former IT secretary M Sivasankar is not yet off the hook in the Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling case.The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has directed the bureaucrat to appear at its Kochi office on Monday for further questioning in connection with the case. This, after he was let off post five hours of questioning by the NIA in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. The agency’s directive to Sivasankar indicates it is yet to be convinced of his claim that he had nothing to do with the smuggling.
During his questioning on Thursday, Sivasankar, it is learnt, told NIA officers that his interactions with Swapna Suresh and other accused persons in the case were purely personal and that he had no clue they were involved in any illegal activity. He had given a similar statement during his questioning by Customs officers recently.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta has directed senior officials in the General Administration Department to provide the CCTV camera visuals from the Secretariat sought by the NIA, said sources. The agency sought footage from the first two weeks of July to unravel the identities of those who visited Sivasankar during the period, said sources.