Published Oct 01, 2026 | 1:06 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 01, 2026 | 1:09 PM
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The state Home Department is learnt to have sought records of a nearly two-decade-old vigilance inquiry involving Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, adding a fresh political dimension to the INDIA bloc’s proposed nationwide campaign against him over alleged electoral irregularities.
The Home Department has reportedly called for the files relating to a preliminary inquiry conducted by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) in 2006, when Kumar was serving as the state’s PWD Secretary.
The inquiry was initiated following the suicide of Lee See Been, a Malaysian civil engineer associated with PATI-BEL, an Indo-Malaysian consortium involved in the upgradation of the M.C. Road under the Kerala State Transport Project.
Lee died by suicide in Kuala Lumpur after reportedly facing difficulties in getting payments and bills related to the project cleared.
His suicide note reportedly referred to Kumar, who was then a senior official handling the PWD Department.
The death triggered a controversy over alleged corruption and administrative hurdles surrounding the multi-crore project.
The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in power at the time subsequently ordered a vigilance inquiry into the allegations.
The Home Department’s move to retrieve the old inquiry records comes ahead of the INDIA bloc’s nationwide campaign against Kumar, scheduled to begin on October 2, with Opposition parties accusing the Election Commission (ECI) of electoral malpractices.
The reopening of the file is also politically significant as the vigilance inquiry dates back to the tenure of an LDF government.
While the immediate focus is on the allegations concerning the CEC, the move could also revive questions surrounding the handling of the project and the political administration in power when the original controversy erupted.
A senior official described the development as a move that could serve two political purposes simultaneously, putting the spotlight on the CEC while also bringing an old LDF-era controversy back into public discussion.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala is yet to comment on the development.
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
Also Read: A suicide note and BJP MP offer: Gyanesh Kumar’s Keralam trail comes under scrutiny
Also Read: Why CEC Gyanesh Kumar should resign, and why the appointment process needs to change too
