Published Oct 05, 2026 | 10:38 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 05, 2026 | 10:43 AM
TM Thomas Isaac, Economist and Former Kerala Minister for Finance.
Synopsis: The Home Department ordered a re-probe into irregularities, allegedly involving Kumar, committed when he was the PWD secretary in 2006. The death by suicide of a Malaysian national is also under investigation.
CPI(M) Central Committee member and former Keralam minister TM Thomas Isaac on Monday, 5 October, welcomed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB)probe against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The State Home Department ordered a fresh probe into allegations of corruption against Kumar, who served as secretary of the works department in Keralam in 2006.
“I welcome GoK ordering a new vigilance enquiry against Gyanesh Kumar for corruption and abetting suicide of Malaysian former project officer of road contract company working for Kerala PWD, while the former was the PWD secretary. Justice delayed, but still better than never [sic],” Isaac said in an X post.
The probe against the 1988 Kerala cadre IAS officer was ordered amid youth- and Opposition-led nationwide protests demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls that began on 24 June 2025.
The incumbent United Democratic Front (UDF) government ordered the fresh inquiry based on a complaint by Congress leader and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala’s close aide, Malayinkeezhu Venugopal.
Venugopal’s complaint accused Kumar of irregularities in awarding public works contracts to private entities during his tenure.
Related: Gyanesh Kumar’s Keralam trail comes under scrutiny
The complaint also raised questions about the death of Lee Been Seen, a Malaysian national who was the chief project manager of PATI-BEL, an Indo-Malaysian joint venture involved in the MC Road project under the Keralam State Transport Project.
Chief Election Commissioner of India Gyanesh Kumar
Lee died by suicide in Kuala Lumpur in 2006. According to the complaint, his suicide note reportedly mentioned Kumar’s name and contained allegations of corruption and harassment by PWD officials.
The Malaysian national had left two suicide notes, one addressed to the PATI director, and another to his wife and children. In the death notes, he explicitly mentioned his “bitter experiences” at the hands of government officials and others in Keralam.
“Thank you for everything you have done, let me die now. I cannot bear this extreme pressure. I am not going back to Kerala anymore. Working with the officials there is very difficult. I don’t think this project can be completed on time. I am resigning from my job. Thank you for all the help you have extended to me all this while. Forgive me.,” Lee wrote to then PATI director Rose Lee.
Venugopal has sought an investigation into both the allegations against Kumar and the circumstances surrounding Lee’s death.
He has also alleged that earlier Vigilance enquiries into the matter were closed without properly pursuing the allegations.
Venugopal said an Instagram video by a Hindi influencer prompted him to file the complaint.
“Amid the developments concerning the CEC, I came across an Instagram video asking why Keralam had not followed up on the case against Gyanesh Kumar. That made me think. In our state, we take every issue seriously. But once the media stops following up and moves on to another sensational matter, the political leadership also tends to forget it,” he told South First.
“This, however, is a matter of justice for the deceased engineer and his family. A soul deserves justice, and we have to stand with the family, especially when the officer facing the allegations is now holding one of the country’s highest constitutional positions as the CEC. How many years have passed is not the issue. What matters is ensuring justice.”
The allegations against Kumar first surfaced in 2006, when the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by VS Achuthanandan was in power.
The issue came under scrutiny following Lee’s death and the allegations linked to the Keralam State Transport Project. Kumar was reportedly transferred out of the PWD before the end of that year.
A series in the Malayala Manorama newspaper by their late award-winning reporter, G Vinod, probed many aspects of the MC Road contract allegations and Lee’s death.
“It was covered on a big scale. Other news outlets also highlighted it, including Asianet News, as it emerged as a big political story then,” his wife Sindhu Sooryakumar told South First. “I still remember the road work on the MC Road getting halted and Keralam facing many difficulties then,” Sooryakumar, the executive editor of Asianet News, said.
The vigilance inquiry ordered back then, however, did not culminate in a publicly established finding of criminal guilt against Kumar.
The current inquiry will also look into whether the earlier Vigilance probe had been derailed or influenced. The Keralam Home Department has obtained files related to the 2006 inquiry.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
