Keralam sanctions probe against Gyanesh Kumar after bribery complaint linked to his state tenure

The Keralam government on Wednesday sanctioned a Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) inquiry against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar related to his tenure as the state’s Public Works Department (PWD) secretary in 2006.

A former contractor with the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) filed a fresh bribery complaint against Kumar, a 1988 batch Kerala cadre Indian Administrative Service officer.

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said he granted sanction under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act to the VACB to conduct a preliminary probe into the current CEC after obtaining legal opinion on the matter. The alleged irregularities associated with the KSTP are under the VACB’s scrutiny.

“We have ordered the inquiry based on a fresh complaint filed by Sajan VO, who functioned as a contractor on the KSTP project, with allegations of bribery against Gyanesh Kumar. The allegations are serious and warrant a detailed probe. The VACB director can decide the nature of the probe including whether to register an FIR,” Chennithala said.

There was no immediate response from Kumar.

Sajan, a former contractor associated with the upgradation of MC Road under KSTP in 2006, alleged that Kumar sought a ₹2 crore bribe from Lee See Been, the chief project officer of consortium firm PATI-BEL, in exchange for clearing bills amounting to ₹14 crore. PATI-BEL, an Indo-Malaysian consortium, was awarded the works to upgrade MC Road under KSTP, a World Bank-funded project.

Sajan told HT that he had been awarded a sub-contract to provide construction supplies for the project and therefore had frequent conversations with Been and other officers of PATI-BEL.

“In the initial few months, the payments were being made on time, and the project was running smoothly. But suddenly, the payments ceased. As contractors, we conveyed our complaints to Been and PATI-BEL officials. Been told me that four cheques amounting to ₹14 crore were sitting on the table of Gyanesh Kumar, then PWD state secretary, without being cleared,” Sajan said. “Later, he told me that Kumar had sought a bribe of ₹2 crore in exchange for the bills being cleared. Been said that PATI-BEL officials in Malaysia were not keen on paying the bribe to run the project further.”

The contractor claimed that Been, under pressure, used a portion of funds from an ongoing PATI-BEL project in Bengaluru to clear the bills of contractors.

Sajan said the Malaysian official hoped earnestly that the bills in the state would be approved by Kumar without further delays.

“But when the bills continued to be withheld and the Bangaluru project got suspended, Been was summoned by his firm to Malaysia. He was under pressure,” said Sajan.

Been died by suicide at a park in Kuala Lumpur on November 11, 2006. Sajan said that he was informed by PATI-BEL officials that Been had named Gyanesh Kumar in his suicide notes addressed to his wife and his supervisor at the firm.

Kumar was removed as PWD secretary and a vigilance probe ordered in the wake of the Malaysian official’s suicide. Sajan claimed the probe was sabotaged to exonerate Kumar, who later earned a deputation to serve in the Union government in Delhi.

“I am ready to provide all the evidence I have to the Vigilance team. The officers should check records of the 2006 probe and documents and bills of the KSTP project,” the contractor said.