Kerala reopens 2006 KSTP case involving CEC Gyanesh Kumar amid fresh allegations

Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has ordered a detailed Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) investigation into allegations linked to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's tenure as the state's Public Works Department (PWD) secretary in 2006.

The case centres on the alleged death by suicide of Malaysian civil engineer Lee See Been, who was associated with the PATI-BEL consortium working on a World Bank-funded road project under the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP). Kumar's name was reportedly mentioned in Lee's suicide note, while allegations have also surfaced that an earlier preliminary Vigilance inquiry into the matter was derailed because of external pressure.

Complaint prompts fresh investigation

The Home Department has sought all files connected with the preliminary VACB inquiry conducted in 2006. Chennithala has directed Vigilance Director Manoj Abraham to conduct a thorough investigation into allegations of external influence and take appropriate legal action based on the findings.

The decision followed a complaint submitted on Saturday by Congress leader Malayinkeezhu Venugopal, who sought an investigation into the allegations against Kumar. Chennithala said he examined the complaint and found merit in it.

“I am convinced that a detailed Vigilance inquiry is essential,” Chennithala said. He also said he had spoken to Chief Minister VD Satheesan before instructing Abraham to take lawful steps.

The minister denied that the decision was connected to the Congress-led protests against the Election Commission and assured that there would be no government interference in the Vigilance investigation.

Reports published after the order said a Vigilance inquiry had been initiated in connection with the case in 2006 but was later discontinued following a change in government. Kumar was subsequently transferred out of Kerala and moved to the Defence Ministry on deputation.

What the 2006 KSTP case is about

The controversy dates back to a ₹215-crore World Bank-funded KSTP project for reconstruction of the MC Road between Angamaly and Thiruvananthapuram.

PATI-BEL, a joint venture involving a Malaysian company and Bhageeratha Engineering, was involved in the project. Lee See Been, a Malaysian civil engineer associated with the consortium, allegedly died by suicide during the period when Kumar was serving as PWD secretary.

His reported suicide note allegedly named Kumar and raised allegations concerning the functioning of PWD officials. More recent reports have also referred to allegations of corruption, mismanagement and harassment in connection with the project. According to the complainant, the earlier Vigilance inquiry was abruptly closed and Kumar escaped further scrutiny because of political and internal influence. These remain allegations that the fresh investigation has been ordered to examine.

The Kerala government had also begun looking again at files related to the MC Road contract shortly before the latest Vigilance order. Reports said the review would examine the contract records associated with the project and Lee's death.

Probe comes amid opposition pressure on CEC

The development comes at a time when opposition parties have been demanding Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over controversies surrounding the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

A report in The Indian Express said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months concerning decisions related to electoral rolls, voter registration and technology systems.

The Election Commission of India has rejected any suggestion of institutional discord affecting its decisions, saying that dissent, administrative queries, operational inputs and suggestions during the drafting stage are part of normal institutional functioning. It has also maintained that all final decisions on the SIR schedule were taken unanimously.

The INDIA bloc has announced protests on October 6 and a major rally in Delhi on November 1 as part of its opposition to the Election Commission's actions.

Chennithala, however, rejected any political link between those protests and the Vigilance action against Kumar.

Meanwhile, Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram has urged chief electoral officers across states to come forward and publicly explain the directives issued to them during the voter-roll clean-up exercise under the SIR.

The fresh Kerala investigation therefore places a 20-year-old case involving Kumar back under scrutiny even as political opposition to his functioning as CEC continues.