Keralam government gets legal opinion to proceed against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in abetment to suicide case

A two-decade-old suicide case of a Malaysian engineer has come back to haunt Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar with the Keralam government receiving a legal opinion to proceed against him for abetment to suicide.

T. Asaf Ali, Director General of Prosecution, has given legal advice to the State government that there is no legal bar in proceeding against Mr. Kumar since the punishment prescribed for the offence allegedly involving him could extend to 10 years.

The case pertains to the reported suicide of a Malaysian, Lee See Been, a former chief project officer of a World Bank-aided Kerala State Transport Project for the reconstruction of M.C. Road. The project was implemented by PATI-Bel, a joint venture between PATI of Malaysia and Bhageeratha Constructions, Kochi.

Been reportedly “committed suicide due to extreme mental stress caused following the harassment perpetrated on him by Mr. Gyanesh Kumar, which is evident from the suicide note of the deceased,” according to the legal note.

Been, who reportedly committed suicide in Kuala Lumpur after returning from Keralam, had reportedly left two suicide notes, one to the PATI director and the other one to his wife.