Keralam govt. orders preliminary anti-corruption enquiry against CEC Gyanesh Kumar over corruption allegations

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala has ordered a preliminary anti-corruption enquiry against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, who was the State’s Public Works Department (PWD) secretary at the time of the 20-year-old corruption allegation. The move is politically significant as the Congress seeks Kumar's removal as CEC.

The allegation claims that Kumar's persistent efforts to extort bribes from the PAT-BEL consortium, an Indo-Malaysian construction company, caused delays, cost escalations, and significant losses to the exchequer. The inquiry also reportedly examines the death of Lee See Been, the project’s Chief Engineer, who allegedly committed suicide in Kuala Lumpur in November 2006.

The current UDF government sought this investigation after Congress leader Malayankeezhu Venugopal filed a complaint. The Home Department has directed VACB director Manoj Abraham to carry out the enquiry, and they also asked the Crime Branch to review the findings of a 2006 probe into the Lee See Been controversy. The CAG had previously faulted the PWD for releasing interest-free advances to PAT-BEL without proper field audits, leading to estimated ₹92 crores in losses to the State treasury.