M Sivasankar is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1995 batch Kerala cadre. On 14 February 2023, he made headlines after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate for accepting bribes to facilitate the LIFE Mission project contract to a private construction company, Unitac Builders & Developers.
Wiki/Biography
Siva Sankar M , or Sivasankar Nair , was born on Thursday, January 24, 1963 (age 60 years; in 2023) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. His zodiac sign is Aquarius. Sivasankar enrolled himself in NSS College of Engineering, Palakkad, Kerala, where he earned a Bachelor of Technology in Instrumentation and Control Systems. He completed his postgraduate studies in rural management from the Anand Institute of Rural Management (IRMA), Gujarat, India.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 8″
Hair Color: Gray
Eye Color: Black
M Sivasankar (left) with 12th Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
Family & Ethnicity
M Sivasankar belongs to a Malayali family.
Parents & Siblings
There is not much information about M Sivasankar’s family or siblings.
Wife & Children
According to some media sources, Sivasankar is married to a woman, who is a doctor, while the prime accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case Swapna Suresh revealed in her autobiography “Chathiyude Padmavyuham” that M Sivasankar had married her at the Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Chennai.
M Sivasankar with Swapna Suresh
Address
M Sivasankar lives at Devadarsana, Katturoad, opposite Magic Academy, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Career
After completing his studies, Sivasankar worked with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for some time. On March 1, 2000, he was appointed as undersecretary in the Department of Communication & Information Technology and was later promoted to deputy secretary and served until June 2001. Sivasankar was appointed as undersecretary in the Department of Public Supply and Food & Public Distribution in June 2001 and later was promoted to the position of director in the same department, where he served until August 2002. From August 2002 to September 2003, Sivasankar served as joint secretary in the Department of Communications & Information Technology. In September 2003, he was posted in Malappuram as a District Collector, in the Department of District Administration and Land Revenue Management. In 2006, Sivasankar served in the Department of Public Instruction as deputy secretary. Later, he was promoted to director and served in the same department until 2008. In April 2008, Sivasankar was appointed as deputy secretary in the Department of Tourism, and later he was promoted to the position of director and then continued to serve in the department until 2011. From 2010-2011 , he was appointed director of the Department of Non-Conventional Energy & Rural Technology. In 2011, Sivasankar held the position of secretary in the Public Works Department (JKR) and the Sports Department. Sivasankar, in 2012, served as secretary of the Department of General Education and the Department of Racial Welfare. In the same year, he was appointed as joint secretary to serve the Kerala State Electricity Board and Sports Department. Later, Sivasankar was promoted to the rank of chairman of the Kerala State Electricity Board, and he continued to serve in the department till 2016. Sivasankar, in 2016, was appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Pinarayi Vijayan, who took over the office on 25 May 2016 as Chief 12th Kerala Minister. In 2017, he was promoted to the position of principal secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. In the same year, he held the position of principal secretary in the Department of Information & Technology.
Kerala gold smuggling scam 2020
After Sivasankar was suspected of having alleged links in the gold smuggling case, he was removed as principal secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on 7 July 2020. However, he continued to serve as principal secretary of the Information Technology Department and Chairman of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited (KSITIL ). On 16 July 2020, Sivasankar was suspended for a year from his service after he was accused of recommending Swapna Suresh, a prime accused in the gold smuggling scam, for the post of business development manager at Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited (KSITIL). In October 2020, Sivasankar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate and after spending 98 days in jail, he was released on bail on 3 February 2021. On 4 January 2022, after serving a seventeen-month suspension, Sivasankar’s suspension was revoked by the chief minister. office, and he was reinstated on 6 January 2022. He was appointed as the secretary of the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs. Later, he was given the additional responsibility of the Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Department.
retired
In April 2022, Sivasankar appealed to the state government for Voluntary Retirement from Service (VRS). However, his plea was rejected, citing an ongoing investigation against him by officials of the Directorate of Customs and Enforcement. M Sivasankar, who served as the secretary of the Sports and Youth Affairs Department, has retired from his service on January 31, 2023.
Controversy
Accused of being involved in a gold smuggling case
On 28 October 2020, M Sivasankar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his alleged involvement in the Kerala gold smuggling case. On July 5, 2020, a smuggling case came to light when Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold worth 15 crore, hidden in one of the consignments at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport. They arrested P Sarith Kumar, former executive secretary at the UAE Consulate, who was present at the international airport to collect luggage. The luggage carrying the smuggled gold was addressed to the UAE Consulate in India. Sivasankar was arrested under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for helping Swapna Suresh, one of the prime accused in the case. While serving as the Chairman of Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited (KSITIL), Sivasankar recommended Swapna Suresh for the post of business development manager in the organization. Sivasankar allegedly convinced his Chartered Accountant Venugopal Iyer to open bank lockers with Swapna to help him launder black money and smuggle it to the UAE. However, Sivasankar denied having anything to do with Swapna and said,
I am not aware of their gold smuggling business with Swapna. I have never received their treatment either at home or abroad.”
Referring to M Sivasankar, the Kerala High Court passed a statement regarding his involvement in the case, which read,
The fact that the applicant is in constant contact with one of the main witnesses, namely Swapna Suresh, and that she has offered to help him by contacting his Chartered Accountant and asking him to help her in managing her finances shows that there is justice. it is possible that the applicant knew about Swapna Suresh’s involvement in the alleged smuggling activities.”
M Sivasankar was arrested by Enforcement Directorate officers on 28 October 2020 for his alleged involvement in the gold smuggling case
Arrested for being an accomplice in the Dollar smuggling case
After suspending Sivasankar for his involvement in the gold smuggling case, he was arrested on 20 January 2021 by Customs officials for his alleged involvement in the dollar smuggling case, which came to light while investigating the gold smuggling case. He is accused of helping the former finance chief of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram in smuggling USD 1,90,000 (equivalent to Rs 1.30 crore) to Muscat in Oman. The charge sheet filed by the Customs Department alleged that Sivasankar was in possession of the money, which was seized from the bank locker of Swapna Suresh, the main accused in the gold smuggling case. The money in Swapna’s bank account is the commission received by Sivasankar in awarding the LIFE Mission contract, which is a government scheme to provide shelter to the homeless in Kerala.
Controversy over the publication of his own autobiography
On 5 February 2022, Sivasankar released his autobiography titled “Aswathamavu: Verum Oru Aana” (Aswarthamavu was just an elephant) in which he mentioned details about the gold smuggling case, interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate and Customs officials, and his experience in the jail. Published by DC Books, Sivasankar’s autobiography sparked controversy as he was accused of violating UPSC service rules, which prevent serving bureaucrats from writing biographical books. Also, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan claimed that Sivasankar did not seek his permission to write the autobiography.
M Sivasankar’s autobiography, Aswathamavu Verum Oru Aana
Accused of accepting bribes in the LIFE Mission project
On February 14, 2023, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested M Sivasankar for his alleged involvement in awarding the contract for the Mission for Participation in the Search and Financial Empowerment, also known as, the LIFE Mission project. The LIFE Mission project aims to provide houses in Wadakkanchery in Kerala’s Thrissur district for the poor, who were displaced in the horrific Kerala floods of 2018. The Enforcement Directorate alleged that Sivasankar accepted a bribe of Rs 1 crore to facilitate the LIFE Mission Project to Unitac Builders & Developers, a construction company in Kerala.
M Sivasankar was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on 14 February 2023 for his alleged involvement in the LIFE Mission project corruption case
Facts/Trivia
- During his college days, Sivasankar supported the Students Federation of India (SFI) party.
- In May 2008, Sivasankar was appointed as the director of Kerala Tourism.
- Sivansankar, while serving as principal secretary of the IT department, launched Akshaya centers across Kerala, which aimed to promote computer literacy by providing knowledge related to computer applications.
- Sivasankar was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery to recover from it.
- In 2010, Sivasankar undertook training for the “Phase IV Program of Mandatory Mid-Career Training for IAS Officers.”
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
