‘Demanded Rs 2 crore bribe to clear bills’; serious allegations levelled against Gyanesh Kumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Serious allegations have been levelled against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in connection with the investigation into the Patibel Consortium. V O Sajan, who was close to Lee See Bin, a Malaysian national and Chief Project Manager of the Patibel Consortium, has alleged that Gyanesh Kumar was responsible for Lee's suicide.

The consortium had undertaken the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP), which involved the reconstruction of the MC Road. Sajan made the allegations while speaking to the media.

‘I had taken up a material supply contract from Patibel Company. Gyanesh Kumar, who was the Public Works Secretary at the time, did not clear the bills of Patibel, which had undertaken the KSTP contract. Lee See Bin was under severe mental distress. Gyanesh demanded a bribe of Rs 2 crore to clear the bills. Lee himself told me about this.

Lee was living near my house in Chadayamangalam. The initial Vigilance investigation was aimed at giving Gyanesh a clean chit. The Vigilance team did not record statements from people like me, who had undertaken work from Patibel. A comprehensive investigation must be conducted into the incident. I have also filed a complaint with the vigilance director, Sajan said.

The consortium had secured a contract worth Rs 215 crore to construct a 127-kilometre stretch of M C Road. It comprised Malaysian company Pati and Kerala-based Bhagirath Engineering Limited. According to the agreement, the construction work was supposed to be completed by December 2005. However, as the work remained unfinished, the deadline was extended until May 2006. Since the project was still incomplete, the government withheld bills worth Rs 17 crore. The contractors, meanwhile, owed Rs 12.5 crore to various agencies.

Lee was mentally devastated when he failed to receive the outstanding amount from the government. He informed the company's management that the government was demanding compensation. However, the company maintained that it would not pay compensation for the government's failure to acquire and hand over the land on time. This reportedly put Lee under immense pressure. He then returned to his hometown of Kuala Lumpur. Lee was later found hanging beneath an iron bridge near a lake at Subang Ria Park in Malaysia. Reports say Lee had referred to serious corruption among officials in Kerala in his suicide note. In 2007, the government paid the company Rs 35 crore as compensation. The MC Road project ultimately resulted in additional expenditure amounting to several crores of rupees.