File picture of former Tamil Nadu minister 'Agri' SS Krishnamoorthy.
Former Tamil Nadu minister 'Agri' SS Krishnamoorthy was arrested today in connection with the suicide of a senior government engineer. Mr Krishnamoorthy was removed from the cabinet and stripped of all party posts over allegations that he had put pressure on the engineer, S Muthukumarasamy, to appoint drivers of his choice. The senior engineer allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a train.
Mr Krishnamoorthy's ouster from the cabinet was followed by clamour from opposition parties to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A Chief Engineer of the Agriculture Department, Senthil, has also been arrested in connection with the case.
Speaking to NDTV soon after the arrest, Mr Muthukumarasamy's son, Sethuram Vinod, said, "Let's hope truth would come out. Let's hope for justice. Let's see how investigation goes."
Mr Muthukumarasamy, a senior engineer with the Agriculture Department, killed himself by leaping in front of a train in February. He was 58 and was well-respected for his probity. Mr Vinod said his father "may have been under pressure to make appointments (hire candidates)", and that in the days before he died, he received a flurry of calls from his boss, the Chief Engineer named Senthil. "The Chief Engineer was calling him a lot, we have shared this with the police," said the engineer's son to NDTV.
Mr Krishnamoorthy was sacked as Agriculture Minister earlier this month after the opposition alleged that his office had made threatening phone calls to the engineer days before his suicide reportedly to demand that he hire candidates shortlisted by them, rather than on merit.
The suicide is being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department of the state police. The opposition, which wants Mr Muthukumarasamy's death to be probed by the CBI, says that the calls also reveal that he had clashed with the minister's office which allegedly was demanding bribes in return for jobs within the Agriculture Department.