That is the fate which has befallen the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government reeling under the impact of the gold smuggling case.

The former principal secretary to the Chief Minister and IT secretary M Shivashankaran had become a millstone around the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Government’s neck in the wake of the Sprinklr controversy. He should have been relieved of the twin posts immediately after the Sprinklr row erupted.

In fact, CPI State Secretary Kanam Rajendran had suggested that the bureaucrat be removed because of the acute embarrassment he had caused to the Government on account of the Sprinklr row. The Government, in its wisdom, ignored the sage advice given by Kanam and the CPI.

Subsequent events leading up to the gold smuggling scam have shown that the Government lost a golden chance to redeem itself. If only it had heeded Kanam’s advice, the Government could have avoided the huge embarrassment the controversial bureaucrat has caused. It was a clear case of poor timing.

If that was a serious slip-up, the current attempt by the Chief Minister to avoid placing him under suspension is nothing but a self- goal, which is extracting a heavy political price from the beleaguered Government. The Government’s defence – a shocking attempt at defending the indefensible- is that the bureaucrat has been relieved of his posts!

Nothing has been proved against Shivashankaran to warrant his suspension. That is the CM‘s stand. If he has done nothing wrong, why remove him in the first place? The very fact that the Government has been forced to replace him shows that he is under a cloud, the needle of suspicion having been pointed at him. Both the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Customs department think there is proof against him of helping the prime accused in the gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh. That is also the prevailing public perception. Swapna had managed to get a prestigious post in the IT department – of which Shivashankaran was the secretary - which is under the charge of the Chief Minister.

The least the Chief Minister could have done was to stop defending Shiashankaran. That he has not chosen to do so is a causing suspicion. The CM‘s indefensible stand has sent a wrong message, besides giving an aggressive Opposition a chance to score political brownie points.

The Government has lost not only the battle of perception but also got its timing wrong. Small wonder, the Opposition is busy, demanding the Chief Minister’s resignation and trying to extract maximum political mileage out of the gold smuggling case.

Meanwhile, the two accused, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair who were arrested in Bengaluru on Saturday have been remanded to custody for 14 days. The NIA has managed to secure their custody for seven days for interrogation.

Preliminary investigations by the NIA and the Customs have revealed that the money from gold smuggling was being used to fund terrorist activities. And Koduvalli in Kozhikode district is the nerve centre of gold smuggling. A few arrests have already been made. Among the arrested is a man called Ramis, who is said to be a relative of a prominent Indian Union Muslim League leader. Ramis is said to be the man who distributed funds to top jewellers in the state. The NIA is trying to secure the arrest of Fazal Fareed, the man who reportedly sent the gold from UAE.

A Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) leader from the State has also been questioned a number of times in connection with the case. He is believed to have made the first call to the Customs seeking the release of the diplomatic bag which contained the smuggled gold worth Rs 15 crore. Reports also have it that one of the main accused, Sandeep Nair, has links with the BJP.

More details of the gold smuggling racket rampant in the state are likely to surface as the NIA investigation progresses. The Kerala Police have, in the meantime, handed over to the NIA a list of persons who are behind the gold smuggling in the State and their links. The list is said to have shocking details of the extent and scale of the thriving gold smuggling racket in the State.

The latest information is that the NIA has initiated the process for interrogating Shivashankaran. The former principal secretary to the Chief Minister and former IT secretary, it is learnt, has been told to reach Kochi for questioning. (IPA Service)