THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The vigilance team probing the LIFE Mission scam will approach the Special Court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases in Ernakulam with a petition on Tuesday seeking custody of the chief minister's 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 against him by the Enforcement Directorate in Ernakulam. The vigilance had arraigned Sivasankar as the fifth accused in the LIFE Mission case.
According to the 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. Besides Sivasankar, gold smuggling accused Swapna, Sandeep Nair, Sarith P S and Unitac builders and Sane ventures, the builders of the housing project, have also been arraigned as accused.
The sleuths decided to arraign Sivasankar as they found that he had also got a share of the commission received by Swapna and others for obtaining the government nod for the project. The building project was to be implemented in association with the UAE Red Crescent, with the help of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.
The vigilance had interrogated Swapna at Attakulangara women’s jail in Thiruvananthapuram to seek clarity on the iPhones which were gifted to five persons including Sivasankar as a bribe by Unitac managing director Santhosh Eapen. Vigilance officers had collected the bank account details of Swapna.
Earlier, vigilance sleuths had concluded that government officers were 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 in commission for awarding 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, 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 in commission from Unitac Builders.
Evidence hints at role in scam
The sleuths decided to arraign Sivasankar as they found that he had also got a share of the commission received by Swapna and others for obtaining the government nod for the project.