Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday (October 4) ordered a Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) probe against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities during his tenure as the state's Public Works Department (PWD) Secretary in 2006.
The case relates to the alleged death by suicide of Malaysian civil engineer Lee See Been, who was associated with the PATI-BEL consortium tasked with upgrading the MC Road under the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP). The engineer's purported suicide note had reportedly named Gyanesh Kumar, who was serving as the state PWD Secretary at the time.
Home Department seeks all relevant files pertaining to case
The fresh probe was initiated following allegations that the original preliminary inquiry conducted in 2006 was derailed due to external pressure.
Taking note of the allegations, the Home Department has sought all relevant files related to the 2006 Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) preliminary inquiry.
According to the Home Minister's Office, Ramesh Chennithala has directed the Vigilance Director to conduct a thorough inquiry into the allegations of external influence and take appropriate action based on the findings. The Home Minister said the allegations of external influence in the case were serious and warranted a detailed investigation.
Probe against CEC amid SIR row
The development comes amid protests by opposition parties, student organisations and youth groups in Delhi and Mumbai on Friday, with demonstrators demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and claims of mass voter deletions.
A report in The Indian Express had said earlier that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally recorded objections on at least 14 separate occasions over 10 months regarding decisions on electoral rolls, voter registration, and technology systems. These reported concerns pertained to Form 6 submissions, voter deletions, and access to the central electoral-roll databases.
Election Commission of India (ECI) later rejected claims of institutional dissent and said administrative queries, operational inputs, and suggestions during draft stages are standard practice. The poll panel emphasised that all final decisions regarding the SIR schedule were taken unanimously.
The INDIA bloc is stepping up its nationwide campaign against the Chief Election Commissioner. Opposition parties have planned a series of demonstrations, including a protest on October 6 and a major rally in New Delhi on November 1.