{
  "id": 18070444,
  "title": "Keralam Home Minister directs Vigilance to examine ₹2-crore bribery allegation against CEC Gyanesh Kumar",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/keralam-home-minister-directs-vigilance-to-examine-2-crore-bribery",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-04T05:01:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/keralam-home-minister-directs-vigilance-to-examine-2-crore-bribery-allegation-against-cec-gyanesh-kumar/article71663986.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Thiruvananthapuram: Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has ordered the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to investigate bribery allegations made by a former contractor against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The allegations stem from a road construction project under the KSTP nearly two decades ago when Kumar was the Public Works Department (PWD) Secretary in Kerala. The contractor, Sajan, claims that Kumar demanded a Rs two-crore bribe to release payments for completed work, which caused financial difficulties for the Malaysian company PATI-BEL and its contractors and workers. Sajan alleges that Kumar withheld cheques for bills worth around Rs 17 crore that had already been approved by engineers, leading to Lee See Been, the project engineer from Malaysia, to settle part of the outstanding payments using funds from another company project in Bengaluru. Sajan further alleges that Kumar's demand for the bribe contributed to Lee See Been's suicide in 2006. The Home Minister orders a preliminary inquiry into the matter after receiving a legal opinion, and the VACB will examine the fresh complaint, which is part of ongoing proceedings following a previous complaint on October 4 related to alleged corruption in the MC Road upgradation under the KSTP.",
  "summary": "Charges in connection with a road construction project undertaken under Kerala State Transport Project nearly two decades ago when the current CEC was serving as PWD Secretary in Keralam",
  "key_points": [
    "Keralam Home Minister orders VACB to probe ₹2-crore bribery allegation against CEC Gyanesh Kumar",
    "Former contractor Sajan claims Kumar demanded bribe for road project payments",
    "Allegations led to Lee See Been's suicide in 2006, according to Sajan"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The directive for a preliminary inquiry signals an escalation in the scrutiny surrounding the Chief Election Commissioner’s past administrative conduct during his tenure with the Kerala Public Works Department.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}