THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vigilance team probing the LIFE mission scam will approach the Sessions court Ernakulam on Tuesday seeking custody of former principal secretary M Sivasankar for interrogation. Sivasankar is presently in judicial custody after he was arrested in connection with the money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate in Ernakulam.
The Vigilance had arraigned Sivasankar as the fifth accused in the LIFE mission case. According to Vigilance, they need to seek clarity on certain financial deals with gold smuggling accused Swapna Suresh and others pertaining to the LIFE mission housing project at Wadakkanchery in Thrissur district.
Earlier, this month, the sleuths had submitted the FIR in the Vigilance special court in Thiruvananthapuram. In addition to Sivasankar, gold smuggling accused Swpana Suresh, Sandeep Nair, PS Sarith and the builders involved in the housing project Unitac builders and Sane ventures have also been arraigned as accused.
The sleuths decided to arraign Sivasankar as they found that he also got a share of the commission received by Swapna and others for obtaining government nod for the project. The building project was to be implemented in association with UAE based charity organisation Red Crescent, with the help of UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Vigilance also had interrogated Swapna Suresh at Attakulangara women's jail in Thiruvananthapuram to seek clarity on the iPhones which were gifted to five persons including the Chief Minister's former principal secretary M Sivasankar as a bribe by Unitac Managing Director Santhosh Eapen. Vigilance officers had collected the bank account details of Swapna Suresh.
Earlier, Vigilance sleuths had concluded that government officers are involved in the alleged scam. The state government announced the vigilance probe last month. Opposition parties had alleged that several political leaders and officers had accepted huge sums as commission for implementing the project.
Life Mission, the state's ambitious housing scheme for the homeless and landless, also has a hospital project at Wadakkanchery. The row erupted after Swapna Suresh, a key accused in the gold smuggling case and a former UAE Consulate employee, revealed to the National Investigation Agency that she had received Rs 1 crore as commission from Unitac, the builder.