The Customs Department, in its plea before the additional Chief Judicial Magistratre (Economic Offences), Ernakulam, has submitted that Mr. M. Sivasankar, principal secretary, government of Kerala, needed to be in custody for another seven days for questioning.
The Customs department said that Swapna Suresh, one of the accused in the gold smuggling case, had said during interrogations that Mr. Sivasankar was involved in the currency smuggling case and these evidences need corroboration. The investigating team want to confront him with the evidences and statements elicited from other accused in the case, the submission said.
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The submissions also said that Mr. Sivasankar had claimed he had only one mobile phone. However, during the course of the interrogation it was found that that he had two more mobile phone numbers, one of which was later identified. The phone was retrieved on November 29 (Sunday) and its content is being analysed.
The department submission said it was absolutely essential to have him in custody to question him and to gather further evidence. The intention of the investigating team is to confront Mr. Sivasankar with the confessions of those others accused in the case, the submission added. There is also a need to find out the other accomplices in the case, it said.
