New Delhi: Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala Sunday ordered a Vigilance inquiry into allegations against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar relating to the latter’s tenure as Keralam Public Works Department (PWD) secretary.
The allegations are centered around the death of Malaysian engineer Lee See Been, whose purported suicide note allegedly mentioned Kumar.
Chennithala’s instructions came a day after Congress worker Malayinkeezhu Venugopal submitted a complaint. In it, he sought a probe and alleged an earlier probe was derailed.
“I have forwarded the petition to the Vigilance Director for a detailed examination and further action in accordance with law,” Chennithala said in a post on X.
“The allegation that external influence derailed the earlier preliminary inquiry is serious. It will be inquired into. The investigation will follow the evidence. No one will be prejudged. Justice must be done through due process. Public accountability does not expire with time,” he added.
मैंने विजिलेंस निदेशक को निर्देश दिया है कि वर्ष 2006 में लोक निर्माण विभाग के तत्कालीन सचिव ज्ञानेश कुमार से जुड़े कथित अनियमितताओं और बाहरी प्रभाव के आरोपों की विस्तृत जांच करें।
शिकायत प्राप्त होने और संबंधित अभिलेख मांगे जाने के बाद यह कदम उठाया गया है।
जांच साक्ष्यों के… https://t.co/x51xrdmtmE
— Ramesh Chennithala (@chennithala) October 4, 2026
The allegations concern Keralam State Transport Project (KSTP), under which World Bank-funded upgradation of Main Central Road between Angamaly and Thiruvananthapuram was undertaken. Lee, who was chief project manager for the PATI-BEL consortium executing the project, died by suicide in 2006 after his return to Malaysia.
Chennithala told the media Sunday that Congress worker Venugopal had approached him with allegations of “corrupt activities” during Kumar’s tenure as PWD secretary.
“Yesterday, Malayinkeezhu Venugopal, a Congress worker, gave me a petition regarding the corrupt activities of Gyanesh Kumar when he was PWD secretary in 2006. The representation reveals some of the serious issues. Also, in between, the Malaysian project engineer, Lee, committed suicide. In the suicide note, it has been mentioned about PWD secretary Gyanesh Kumar very clearly,” the Congress leader said. Adding, “The government cannot sit idle. I cannot become a mute spectator. I had forwarded it to the vigilance director to go into the details of the petition and take legal action to deliver justice.”
Chennithala clarified that he had not personally seen the purported suicide note and the matter had been examined by the vigilance department earlier, but the inquiry did not move forward. “This is a case that was hushed up. After the Achuthanandan government came to power back then, this case did not move forward,” he alleged.
The fresh complaint alleges that the earlier probe was affected by external influence.
“The petitioner alleges that the inquiry of a grave nature of corruption has been compromised due to external influence. This is serious. Examine thoroughly and initiate urgent action according to law in the interest of justice,” Chennithala said, quoting his directive to IPS officer Manoj Abraham, Director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) in Keralam.
Chennithala also rejected the suggestion that the action was linked to the Opposition’s ongoing campaign against Gyanesh Kumar, who oversaw the deletion of more than 13 crore voters from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
“This is not a political vendetta. Of course, we are all on strike. Our leader, Rahul Gandhi, is fighting against the misrule of the BJP. Gyanesh Kumar is only a tool of PM Modi and Amit Shah. According to their diktats, he is acting. SIR and other issues are there. We are fighting against him. But this case is different,” Chennithala maintained.
Adding, “As a minister, it is my duty to go into the details, and if there is a cognisable offense, it is my duty to send it to the vigilance director for further inquiry. That I have done. Let vigilance inquire into the whole thing…”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: ‘SIR became special incentive for BJP’: Mamata attacks CEC Gyanesh Kumar over Bengal electoral rolls