Kochi: Suspended IAS officer M Sivasankar was on Tuesday denied bail by a court here in an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case related to money laundering charges in the Kerala gold smuggling racket.

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The special court dealing with Prevention of Money Laundering Act case (PMLA) here rejected the plea moved by the former principal secretary to the Chief Minister, noting that the investigation was at a crucial stage.

Undoubtedly, the investigating agency may require further time to collect all the materials, particularly, the alleged nexus of the petitioner with a crime, Judge Kauser Edappagath said in his order. The court had on November 12 posted the plea to Tuesday for orders after hearing arguments of the prosecution and the defence in detail.