India
oi-Swastika Sruti
In the latest development, the Kerala Government has ordered a Vigilance investigation into allegations of irregularities linked to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during his tenure as Secretary of the state’s Public Works Department (PWD) in 2006.
The Kerala Government ordered a Vigilance probe into alleged irregularities linked to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s 2006 PWD tenure, involving Malaysian engineer Lee See Been’s suicide, amid protests regarding voter list revisions.
According to news agency ANI, Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala directed the Vigilance Director to examine allegations of external influence in an old case involving the death by suicide of Malaysian civil engineer Lee See Been.
The allegations relate to the engineer’s involvement in the PATI-BEL consortium, which was associated with the upgradation of the MC Road under the Kerala State Transport Project.
What Is The 2006 Case?
Lee See Been, a civil engineer from Malaysia, was found dead by suicide in 2006. The suicide letter that he wrote, it is alleged, mentioned Gyanesh Kumar, who was Kerala PWD Secretary then.
The recent Vigilance inquiry has been made following complaints that external pressure might have interfered with the process and that the initial inquiry could not be conducted effectively.
The move taken by the Kerala government is meant to inquire into the above-mentioned allegations. It will be up to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to look into these allegations.
What Did Ramesh Chennithala Say?
Chennithala said he received a petition from Congress activist Malayinkeezhu Venugopal raising allegations about alleged malpractice and corruption during Kumar’s tenure as PWD Secretary.
The Home Minister said the petition also referred to the death of the Malaysian engineer and the reported mention of Gyanesh Kumar in the suicide note.
Chennithala said he had forwarded the representation to the Vigilance Director for a detailed examination and appropriate legal action.
The minister stressed that the government could not remain silent when such allegations had been brought before it.
The Vigilance inquiry will now determine whether the allegations have any substance and whether any further legal action is warranted.
Probe Comes Amid Protests Against Gyanesh Kumar
The Kerala government’s move comes at a time when Gyanesh Kumar is facing political criticism over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Opposition parties, student organisations and youth groups held protests in Delhi and Mumbai on Friday, demanding Kumar’s resignation and raising allegations of irregularities in the voter-list revision exercise.
In Delhi, around 700 protesters were detained, including several opposition leaders and activists. In Mumbai, thousands reportedly gathered at Shivaji Park despite police denying permission for the demonstration.
Those detained in Delhi included AAP leaders Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Sanjeev Jha, along with CPI(M) leaders M A Baby and Brinda Karat, CPI national secretary P Sandosh Kumar, RJD leader Manoj Jha and social activist Yogendra Yadav.
Opposition Raises Questions Over SIR
The protests intensified following reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions over a period of 10 months concerning decisions and procedures related to the SIR exercise and other electoral matters.
The reported objections were said to cover issues such as voter deletions, Form 6 applications and access to electoral-roll databases.
However, the Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that these exchanges represented institutional disagreement within the poll panel.
The ECI said operational queries, suggestions and inputs during the draft stage were part of its normal administrative and decision-making process. It also maintained that all decisions of the three-member Election Commission, including those concerning the SIR, were taken unanimously.
HELP IS JUST ONE CALL AWAY
Complete Anonymity, Professional Counselling Services
iCALL Mental Helpline Number: 9152987821
Mon – Sat: 10am – 8pm
