Kerala Chief Minister suspends Shiv Shankar

Former Principal secretary to the Chief Minister and IT Secretary S. Shiv Shankar, allegedly involved over the gold smuggling case and questioned by the Customs sleuths, was suspended by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on July 16. The suspension order was issued soon after the panel headed by Chief Secretary submitted the report.

Shiv Shankar was expelled from the posts of IT Secretary and Principal Secretary after the allegation levelled against him over the gold smuggling case. Following which department level probe headed by Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary was launched against Shiv Shankar. The panel found out that Shiv Shankar committed a lapse in appointing Swapna Suresh and he breached the rules stipulated for IAS officials. The report said that Shiv Shankar had violated service rules.