Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has ordered a detailed vigilance inquiry into alleged corruption involving Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during his tenure as the Secretary of the state Public Works Department (PWD) in 2006, including allegations surrounding the suicide of a Malaysian engineer associated with a major Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) contract.

The decision follows a complaint submitted by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) member Malayinkeezhu Venugopal, who alleged that several vigilance inquiries into Kumar’s conduct as PWD Secretary were closed without proper investigation. Chennithala said he examined the complaint and, after discussing the matter with Chief Minister VD Satheesan, directed Vigilance Director Manoj Abraham to conduct a detailed inquiry.

“In 2006, Gyanesh Kumar was PWD Secretary. At that time, a World Bank project of Rs 215 crore to develop MC Road from Angamaly to Thiruvananthapuram was being executed. A Malaysian company took up the project. When the project was underway, project engineer Lee See Ben raised many allegations. He left for his country and died by suicide, leaving two suicide notes. In the notes, he mentioned........

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