M Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Wadakkanchery LIFE Mission corruption case

The ED had interrogated Sivasankar during the last three days and the arrest was recorded at around 11.45 pm on Tuesday. Sivasankar has been arraigned as fifth accused in the case.

Wadakkanchery LIFE ( Livelihood Inclusion Financial Empowerment) mission case pertains to the alleged diversion of funds provided by the UAE Red Crescent for the construction of apartments for the poor in the wake of the 2018 Kerala floods.

Earlier, the ED had questioned the gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh and Sarith PS. The ED has also questioned Santhosh Eapen,MD of Unitac, the construction company which got the contract for the housing complex construction work.

The UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram and the Kerala LIFE Mission entered into an agreement to construct a housing complex at Wadakkanchery using the Red Crescent’s funds in 2019.

It has been alleged that Sivasankar and the UAE Consul General received kickbacks from Unitac builders for awarding the work of construction of the housing complex to them. The alleged corruption came to light after former UAE Consulate employees Swapna Suresh and Sarith PS were arrested by the ED and Customs in the gold smuggling case.

Responding to the arrest of Sivasankar, Opposition leader VD Satheesan said that all the concealed corruption cases that took place during the first Pinarayi Vijayan government are coming out one by one now.

Speaking to media persons in Kochi, Satheesan said the arrest of Sivasankar shows that the entire corruption took place concentrating in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muralidharan said that the arrest of Sivasankar indicates some points that either Pinarayi Vijayan has a role in the corruptions which took place under his confidant Sivasankar or he is an incompetent Chief Minister, who is not aware of what is happening in his office.