Kerala: M Sivasankar allowed to call kin from jail

KOCHI: Special court for considering cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Thursday permitted IAS officer M Sivasankar, the fifth accused in the enforcement directorate (ED) case relating to Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling, to make video calls to his immediate family members from prison. The court also granted other requests of Sivasankar, including access to writing material and meeting close relatives as well.
The requests were granted after the court perused the report of the jail superintendent and heard the submission of the counsel for Sivasankar and the enforcement directorate special prosecutor.
The court directed the jail superintendent of Kakkanad district jail to permit Sivasankar to make video calls with his immediate family members and advocates and to permit him to make phone calls using the wireless smartphone facility available in the prison with his wife, son and father.
The jail superintendent shall also permit Sivasankar to have meetings with his relatives, Narayanan, Unnikrishnan and Anand Krishnan as well as his lawyer in jail, three days a week. The duration of the meeting of each person shall not exceed an hour, the order further said.
As per the order, the jail superintendent shall also provide note book, paper and pen to Sivasankar as requested. The above directions shall be complied by the jail superintendent in accordance with the Prisons Rules, the court ordered on Thursday. Meanwhile, questioning of M Sivasankar, Swapna Suresh and Sarith P S, who were sent in Customs custody on Wednesday, continued on Thursday.