Kerala CM’s secretary to miss date with ED, cites post-Covid ‘complications’

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s additional private secretary CM Raveendran will not appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday for questioning in connection with the gold smuggling case as he is yet to be discharged from the hospital due to post-Covid health complications.

Doctors at the Thiruvananthapuram medical college hospital said he was suffering from breathlessness and other ailments and needed regular medical attention. He was admitted to the hospital two days back after the ED issued him a fresh notice.

Raveendran was first summoned by ED last month, but he could not appear before the central agency since he tested positive for Covid-19. Another former aide to the CM, senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, M Sivasankar, is already in judicial custody in connection with the case. Raveendran was summoned on the basis of the statement given by Sivasankar, said a senior official of the multi-agency probe team who requested anonymity.

But the opposition Congress and the BJP expressed serious doubts over his hospitalisation.

“We suspect it is a ploy to avoid grilling. A medical expert team will have to check his medical condition,” said Pradesh Congress Committee president Mullapally Ramachandran. “He can’t remain in the hospital for long like this,” said BJP state president K Surendran. Ruling CPI(M) leaders are yet to react over the controversy.

Considered close to CM Vijayan, Raveendran, a party leader hailing from north Kerala, had served under many ministries earlier. When Sivasankar was arrested in October, the government quickly distanced itself from him but in Raveendran’s case, it is difficult for the party and the government to disown him, political observers said.

After the gold smuggling case surfaced, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) has suffered one setback after another in recent months. Former Communist Party of India (Marxist) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s son Bineesh Kodiyeri is in jail in connection with a Bengaluru drug haul. Balakrishnan was forced to proceed on long leave later.

Later, the ED ordered the seizure of all properties owned by junior Kodiyeri. He landed in trouble after a suspect arrested in the Bengaluru drug racket named him and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) found that he had financial links with the racket.

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The gold smuggling racket came to light on July 5 after the seizure of 30 kg of yellow metal from a consignment addressed to the United Arab Emirates consulate in the state capital. A multi-agency team headed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing the case and 34 people have been arrested so far.

During the probe, agencies also came across alleged irregularities and payment of commissions in some government pet projects, including the Life Mission housing scheme and the Kerala Fibre Optic Network. Last month, the ED wrote to the state chief secretary, seeking details of the projects, angering the state government.

ED is also inquiring into alleged irregularities in the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) based on a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which is yet to be placed in the assembly, further resulting into a stand-off between the state assembly and the probe agencies.

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