India Today and HT reports gain momentum regarding the 2006 suicide of the WB project manager Lee in Kuala Lumpur
The controversial chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is again in the news these days , especially after a report published in the prestigious India today and Hindustan Times regarding a 2006 suicide by a Malaysian Engineer Lee See Ben mentioning the name of Gyanesh Kumar, the then PWD secretary in the Kerala government alongwith an another officer levelling alleged charges of corruption allegedly compelling him to commit suicide.
It may be recalled that the Malaysian enginner who was in Kerala in connection with a World Bank road project in his capacity of the chief project officer for the World Bank Aided road project had committed suicide in Kualalumpur after he returned back completely depressed.
Lee has blamed the then PWD secretary Gyanesh Kumar naming him in the suicide note for allegedly demanding bribe for releasing the over due payments, creating lots of bottlenecks thus harassing and compelling him to commit suicide.
The matter which was under garbs came to startling light after the reports published in India today and Hindustan Times.
The detailed story is : In 2006, Lee See Ben was the chief project manager and representative engineer of the Malaysian consortium PATI-BEL for a World Bank-funded road construction project in Kerala (Kerala State Transport Project—KSTP).
Lee C Ben committed suicide in 2006 due to harassment, bribery and delay in payments by senior officials of the Public Works Department of the Kerala Government and some ministers reveal the reports.
Before committing suicide, he had written a suicide note in which he named several officials including the then PWD Secretary Gyanesh Kumar (who is currently the Chief Election Commissioner of India). The suicide note alleged that Lee Si Ben was unable to pay his sub-contractors due to non-payment, which had caused him immense mental stress. Lee Si Ben’s suicide became a publicity-seeker incident, causing embarrassment for the Kerala government and leading to an investigation into financial irregularities in the project.
Following the incident, the then Secretary, Gyanesh Kumar, was transferred.
Reports in Hindustan Times and India Today suggest that the vigilance investigation did not result in any prosecution of the accused.
Then, 1988 batch Kerala cadre IAS officer Gyanesh Kumar was promoted and made Joint Secretary in the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence from 2007–2012.
After the change of power, he served as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs from 2016 to 2018. He is believed to have helped draft the abrogation of Article 370.
In 2019, when Amit Shah became Home Minister, Gyanesh Kumar got the opportunity to work under him as Additional Secretary. He was later elevated to the post of secretary cooperative ministry under Amit Shah HM.
It is said that Gyanesh Kumar was made the Chief Election Commissioner of the country because he was highly trusted by the top political bosses of the country. After the revelation by the IT and HT reports the matter is gaining tremendous momentum in the print, electronics and social media obviously bringing bad name to EC of which he is the CEC and the ruling political dispensation.
