Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala chief minister's Additional Private Secretary CM Raveendran has been admitted to the hospital yet again, just days before he is set to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning.
He is currently undergoing treatment at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.
Last month, a day after he was served the first notice by the central agency, he had tested COVID positive. After his isolation period ended, a second notice was issued to him on November 25, but he was hospitalised within hours after he complained of breathing problems.
Again, Raveendran had cited post-COVID complications for his ill-health.
It is unlikely if he will now appear before the ED on Thursday.
The agency is set to question him on December 10 after Swapna Suresh, one of the prime accused in the gold smuggling case, alleged that several influential sources in the chief minister's office had received illegal gratification in the grant of contracts for major projects.
Raveendran was reportedly posted in the chief minister's office bypassing rules with regard to educational qualification and age.
A native of Kozhikode district, Raveendran has been a vital cog between the party and the top leaders of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and was on the personal staff of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan in 2006-11, when he was the Home Minister in the VS Achuthanandan government.
When Vijayan took over as Chief Minister in 2016, Raveendran wielded major clout and his alleged closeness with since-arrested senior IAS officer M Sivasankar was often talked about.
The CPM which is miffed in the way the ED and other national probe agencies are pursuing the gold smuggling case does not want anything untoward to happen as the second and third phase of the local body polls are to take place on December 10 and 14.
(With inputs from IANS)
