THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior bureaucrat M Sivashankar, who had a tumultuous career in civil service after getting entangled in the gold smuggling case, retired from service on Tuesday. The 1995 batch IAS officer was serving as secretary, of sports and youth affairs.
An efficient officer, he rose through the ranks with his potential. Widely perceived to be close to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, he had served as principal secretary to the chief minister.
Sivasankar was embroiled in controversies towards the fag end of his career. During the first Pinarayi government, he found himself amidst a slew of controversies including Life Mission, Sprinklr deal as well as allegations of gold smuggling through diplomatic channels.
He had to serve a jail term of 98 days in connection with the gold smuggling case. He was under suspension for almost 17 months and returned to service in January 2022.