Kerala Agency Ordered to Probe Bribery Allegations Against Chief Election Commissioner

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — Kerala’s Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has been ordered to conduct a preliminary inquiry into fresh allegations that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar demanded bribes from contractors while serving as the state’s Public Works Department (PWD) secretary in 2006.

The Home Minister’s office announced the probe on Wednesday following a complaint from a contractor named Sajan, who accused Kumar of soliciting Rs 2 crore from a Malaysian engineer over road project payments. The preliminary inquiry will determine whether authorities will register a First Information Report (FIR).

The case stems from road projects undertaken by PATI-BEL, an India-Malaysia joint venture. According to Sajan’s October 23 complaint, Lee See Been, the project manager and a Malaysian engineer, died by suicide in Malaysia in November 2005 after PWD officials allegedly withheld payments over bribe demands.

Sajan, a native of Kollam who stated he was a material supplier and overseer who worked closely with Lee, claimed the engineer had confided in him. “Lee had told me that Kumar had sought Rs 2 crore to clear the bills. But PATI-BEL was not ready to pay bribes to get the bills cleared,” Sajan stated, adding that Lee’s family had informed company employees about references to Kumar in the engineer’s suicide note. Sajan stated he was ready to furnish evidence and present Lee’s family members to investigators if a probe was ordered. The alleged suicide note itself has never been made public.

The matter is already under scrutiny following a separate complaint filed last month by Congress leader Malayankeezhu Venugopal, who alleged Kumar’s name appeared in the note and that external pressure compromised the original 2006 vigilance investigation. The Home Minister’s office stated that the VACB was already seeking legal advice on reopening the earlier probe based on Venugopal’s petition when Sajan filed his complaint.

Addressing the Assembly last month, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala stated that the VACB previously closed its investigation into the 2006 road project allegations after finding the charges unsubstantiated, recommending that no further action be taken. Chennithala also noted that Kumar had previously been named in a vigilance inquiry into 76 works allegedly awarded without tenders between 2003 and 2006. The VACB dropped those proceedings after failing to substantiate anomalies, and in 2012, submitted “mistake of fact” reports for eight cases to the court, which accepted them.