The investigation concerns bribery involving an Indo-Malaysian construction company, financial losses to the exchequer, and the suspected suicide of a chief engineer involved in the project during Kumar's tenure as Public Works Department secretary.
The Keralam government on Sunday ordered a preliminary investigation into corruption allegations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, dating back to his tenure as the state’s Public Works Department secretary in the early 2000s. The Congress-led United Democratic Front government has directed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe allegations of bribery involving an Indo-Malaysian construction company that was awarded a contract to upgrade the Main Central Road under the Kerala State Transport Project.
The project was delayed and saw cost escalations during Kumar’s tenure while the Left Democratic Front government was in power. The firm had been awarded the contract by the previous UDF government.
The allegations also include financial losses to the exchequer and the suspected death by suicide of Lee See Been, chief engineer of the PATI-BEL consortium, in Kuala Lumpur in November 2006. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday said that the government received a formal complaint alleging irregularities during Kumar’s tenure as the public works department secretary.
In his petition, Congress leader Malayinkeezhu Venugopal alleged that the 2006 inquiries against Kumar did not follow due process and ignored the ‘incriminatory accusations’ in Lee’s purported suicide note.
Source:
Scroll.in
