'Examining old case involving CEC Gyanesh Kumar': Keralam Vigilance Director Manoj Abraham

Kochi: Keralam Vigilance Director Manoj Abraham on Thursday said the department was examining an old case involving Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and would take a decision on the matter in about a week.

The statement came after Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala had earlier directed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to conduct an inquiry into alleged irregularities during Gyanesh Kumar's tenure as PWD Secretary in 2006.

Speaking on the status of the matter, Abraham said the department was currently examining the files and would take a decision after completing the scrutiny.


Speaking to ANI, he said, "We are still examining that. The examination part is going on. The CD file, it's a very old case. So based on the petition, we are examining the files and we can take a decision after a week or so."

The matter relates to the alleged death by suicide of Malaysian civil engineer Lee See Been, who was associated with the PATI-BEL consortium involved in upgrading the MC Road under the Kerala State Transport Project.

The engineer's alleged suicide note reportedly named Gyanesh Kumar, who was serving as PWD Secretary at the time. The fresh inquiry was initiated following allegations that the preliminary inquiry conducted in 2006 had been derailed due to external pressure.

The Keralam Home Department has sought relevant files relating to the 2006 VACB preliminary inquiry. Chennithala has directed the Vigilance Director to conduct a detailed inquiry into allegations of external influence and take appropriate action based on the findings.

The political controversy comes as INDIA bloc MPs continued their protest against the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Meanwhile, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday announced that the INDIA bloc MPs will stage a peaceful sit-in protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar at Gandhi Smarak in Delhi amid the ongoing row over the alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

This will mark the third consecutive day of protest by the opposition MPs after they staged a march to Nirvachan Sadan on Tuesday and protested near Jantar Mantar on Wednesday. The MPs boarded the bus to move towards the Raj Ghat.