THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) is unlikely to take further action on the preliminary inquiry conducted in 2007 against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, following the suicide of a Malaysian engineer involved in a road-widening project in Keralam, as the agency has uncovered no discrepancies in the past investigation. Sources indicated that the preliminary probe concerning Gyanesh—who served as the public works department secretary at the time—strictly conformed to existing administrative rules and Vigilance norms. Gyanesh was previously cleared of wrongdoing following the 2007 inquiry.
The UDF government ordered a review of the 2007 inquiry earlier this month acting on a complaint by a Congress leader, who alleged that prior investigations were compromised or abruptly terminated due to external political pressure. The development coincided with intense opposition protests demanding the resignation of the CEC over controversies surrounding the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Lee See Been, the chief project manager for PATI-BEL—an Indo-Malaysian consortium undertaking the upgrading of MC Road under the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP)—died by suicide in Kuala Lumpur in 2006, reportedly after his efforts to get pending financial bills cleared met with administrative roadblocks. Gyanesh’s name was cited in one of Lee’s suicide notes, which also alleged systemic corruption plaguing project implementation.
Following the state government’s directive, the VACB reviewed the preliminary inquiry files to check for any procedural lapses.
Insiders noted that the scrutiny revealed no lacunae, concluding that “it appears there is no scope for any further Vigilance action.” Officials added that the petitioner failed to submit any fresh corroborative evidence against Gyanesh to warrant reopening the resolved case. ‘Nothing of note came up during scrutiny of files’
“The petition has been entered into the file. That’s all. So far nothing of note came up during the scrutiny of the case files,” a senior Vigilance source stated.
During the record review, the VACB discovered that two other preliminary inquiries had also been launched against Gyanesh during the same period, neither of which substantiated any culpability. One inquiry pertained to the alleged overpayment to a contractor, while the other involved bridge construction protocols. No actionable findings emerged from either case, sources confirmed.
Meanwhile, the state government is reportedly considering assigning the Crime Branch or establishing a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine non-corruption angles surrounding Lee’s death. According to sources, this pursuit holds significance as it could potentially unearth the elusive suicide note that originally thrust Gyanesh into controversy. Immediately following Lee’s death in 2006, state police attempted to procure a copy of the suicide note from Malaysian authorities, though the diplomatic effort proved unsuccessful.
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