KOCHI
:
M Sivasankar
, former principal secretary to chief minister
Pinarayi Vijayan, has travelled to
United Arab Emirates
(
UAE
) along with gold smuggling case co-accused
Swapna
Suresh seven times, said
Customs
at the court on Tuesday during the hearing of Sivasankar’s
bail petition
.
The senior counsel for the Customs team investigating the case, while opposing the bail plea by Sivasankar, submitted before Ernakulam ACJM (economic offences) court that all the seven times they stayed in five-star hotels in UAE and Sivasankar had personally met the accommodation expenses.
Customs submitted that these trips were made with hidden intentions and the same are being probed by the agency. The Customs counsel said a senior
IAS officer making that many trips to the same country is highly unusual.
The counsel said gold smuggling activities carried out by the accused with Sivasankar’s help has affected the friendly relationship between India and the UAE. Customs also submitted that the functioning of UAE consulate in
Thiruvananthapuram has come to a standstill following the incident, which is not congenial to the maintenance of good relationship with the country.
Meanwhile, Sivasankar’s counsel, requesting to grant the bail, said Customs could not produce any evidence, except the statements by other accused, to prove him an accused in the case. The counsel said Customs even failed to substantiate offences committed by Sivasankar and he is the only accused who is yet to receive bail in the case. Sivasankar also filed a medical report issued in 2015 that stated he is suspected of suffering from cancer in his upper jaw. But, Customs refuted the claims stating that Sivasankar travelled to foreign countries many times over this period, even with such illness.
The court directed Customs to submit the copy of the latest statement given by Sivasankar to the agency under Section 108 of Customs Act. The court will pronounce the verdict on Sivasankar’s bail petition on Wednesday.
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