After an intense interrogation session that lasted for nearly 10 hours, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) let off M. Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Tuesday night.
The top official was let off after grilling for around 9 p.m. The official is understood to have left for his Thiruvananthapuram residence at the end of the quizzing session. It was for the second consecutive day on Tuesday that the investigation agency interrogated the top bureaucrat at its Kochi office in connection with the diplomatic baggage gold smuggling case. On Monday, the agency had grilled him for close to nine hours.
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If arrested, Opposition political parties would have stepped up their attack on the government and intensified their demand for the resignation of the Chief Minister as the official had wielded considerable clout in his office and in the administration.
The NIA had on July 23 questioned the official for nearly five hours in Thiruvananthapruam. Meanwhile, the bail application of Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair will come up before the NIA Special Court here on Wednesday.
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Last week when the bail application of the accused came up, counsel of the investigation agency requested the court to postpone the case as the Assistant Solicitor General wished to appear before the court in the case.
