Keralam orders probe into fresh bribery allegations against CEC Gyanesh Kumar over 2006 road project
A contractor alleged that Kumar had sought Rs 2 crore from a Malaysian engineer during his tenure as the secretary of the state’s Public Works Department.
Black News 
The Keralam government on Wednesday ordered a preliminary investigation into fresh allegations that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had sought bribes from contractors to clear bills during his tenure as the secretary of the state’s Public Works Department in 2006, The Indian Express reported.
On October 4, the Congress-led United Democratic Front government in the state directed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to investigate bribery allegations against Kumar after Congress leader Malayinkeezhu Venugopal filed a complaint.
The development came amid allegations against Kumar about irregularities in the conduct of the special intensive revision of voter rolls and calls from Opposition parties seeking his removal from office.
The fresh allegations were made by a contractor named Sajan, who alleged that Kumar sought Rs 2 crore from Malaysian engineer Lee See Been, the project manager of a road project undertaken by the Indo-Malaysian construction company PATI-BEL, The Indian Express reported.
Lee died by suicide in Kuala Lumpur in November 2006, allegedly leaving behind a note in which he accused PWD officials of withholding payments over demands for bribes.
In their complaints, Venugopal and Sajan have claimed that Lee had mentioned Kumar in his suicide note.
The project was delayed and saw cost escalations during Kumar’s tenure while the Left Democratic Front government was in power.
The PATI-BEL consortium had been awarded the contract...
