Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has ordered an investigation by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities during his tenure as the southern state's Public Works Department (PWD) secretary in 2006.
The matter is linked to the alleged death by suicide of Malaysian civil engineer Lee See Been, who was with the PATI-BEL consortium tasked with upgrading a road under the Keralam State Transport Project (KSTP).
The engineer's "suicide note" had reportedly named Gyanesh Kumar, who was serving as the state PWD secretary, at the time, news agency ANI reported, adding the fresh probe was initiated following allegations that the original preliminary investigation conducted in 2006 was derailed due to external pressure.
Taking note of the matter, the Home Department has sought all files pertaining to the 2006 VACB preliminary inquiry.
Chennithala has directed the vigilance director to conduct a thorough inquiry into the allegations of external influence and take action based on the findings, according to the state Home Minister's Office. The home minister said the allegation of external influence in the case was serious and warranted a detailed investigation.
Chennithala ordered the probe after Congress leader Malayinkeezhu Venugopal filed a complaint seeking an investigation against Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday. Chennithala told reporters he examined the complaint and found merit in the allegations.
"I am convinced that a detailed Vigilance inquiry is essential," he said, adding he has spoken to Chief Minister VD Satheesan before directing vigilance director Manoj Abraham to take lawful steps to conduct a detailed investigation.
In 2006, a World Bank-funded project worth Rs 215 crore was undertaken by the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) for the reconstruction of the MC Road from Angamaly to Thiruvananthapuram. PATI-BEL, a joint venture between a Malaysian firm and Bhageeratha Engineering, had worked on the project.
Opposition parties have been demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar after a report in the Indian Express said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally recorded objections on at least 14 separate occasions over 10 months regarding decisions on electoral rolls, voter registration and technology systems.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) had responded that institutional dissent and administrative queries, operational inputs and suggestions during draft stages were standard practice. The ECI said all final decisions regarding the SIR schedule were taken unanimously.
The Opposition bloc INDIA has planned a series of protests on October 6 and a huge rally in Delhi on November 1.
Chennithala denied a political correlation with the Congress's planned protests against the Election Commission and assured there will be no government interference in the Vigilance Department probe.
Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram called on chief electoral officers across states to come forward and publicly clarify the directives issued to them during the voter roll cleanup exercise Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
With inputs from ANI and PTI
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