THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s additional private secretary CM Raveendran. The ED has asked him to appear at the Kochi office on Friday.

The ED summons was issued to Raveendran on the basis of arrested IAS officer Sivasankar’s statements and in connection with the projects of the IT department.

CM's former principal secretary Sivasankar was arrested as per the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The investigation team had found that the gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh had laundered money. Sivasankar's arrest was a setback for the state government. The ED notice to the Chief Minister's Additional Private Secretary will put CPI (M) under even more pressure.