Kochi: Kerala former Principal Secretary to Chief Minister M. Shiva Shanker was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday, his alleged role in the Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling case.

It is the first time in Kerala’s history that a serving IAS officer has been arrested. As someone very close officially to the CM, Shiva Shanker’s arrest has made it harder for the LDF Government to deny complicity in what transpired.

The opposition UDF and BJP are already demanding the resignation of CM Pinarayi Vijayan. According to the sources, ED officials recorded Shiva Shanker’s arrest after finding that they probe so far had found enough evidence to satisfy the conditions under the section 19 of the PMLA. Sources said the IAS officer would be presented before a Magistrate on Thursday.

Prior to his arrest, ED has questioned Shiva Shanker for over 36.5 hours on five occasions. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennitala said if Shiva Shanker is the symptom, the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is the disease. The investigative agency should question CM who is infact the first accused in these cases, he added.