Thiruvananthapuram, March 19 (IANS) In the last five years, 31 serving IAS officials and four retired bureaucrats have been probed by the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau, Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan told the assembly Monday.

Replying to an unstarred question by Communist Party of India (CPI) legislator P. Jayarajan, the chief minister said investigations were continuing in seven cases involving eight Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officials.

Amongst the 31 is Suresh Kumar, an official attached to Achuthanandan's office. He was probed in four different cases, including amassment of wealth, wrong utilisation of funds and irregularities in awarding work before joining the chief minister's office.

The list also includes four retired IAS officials, including former chief secretary R. Ramachandran Nair.