A day after the sacking of Agriculture Minister Agri’ S S Krishnamoorthy from the Cabinet, the investigation into the suicide of an Agricultural department engineer was transferred to the crime branch of the State police. The criminal investigation department has taken over the probe with immediate effect, sources said.
The order for the CB-CID inquiry came at a time when some opposition parties were planning to file a petition in the Madras High Court seeking a CBI inquiry into the death of executive engineer S Muthukumarasamy who jumped in front of a train in Tirunelveli on Feburary 20, unable to bear pressure from the Minister’s office over appointment of seven drivers. He was asked to facilitate bribes or face action. The CB-CID probe is unlikely to bring out the truth as the CID is seen to be under the control of the ADMK regime.
DMK President Kalaignar alleged that the State government has removed the Minister from the cabinet since it realized the implications of what would happen otherwise. “The action of government itself shows that who is behind the suicide of the government engineer”, he said.
“The transfer of the case is eyewash. It’s an attempt to avoid a CBI inquiry, “ PMK founder Ramadoss said. He demanded Krishnamoorthy’s arrest. Both PMK and CPM have also demanded the registration of a case against Krishnamoorthy followed by legal action.
“Though the government’s decision to sack him from the cabinet is an important development, it is not enough,“ said Ramadoss. He said, “A case should be filed against Krishnamoorthy for instigating the suicide of an honest official. The action against him should be a lesson for other corrupt ministers”, he added.
CPM state secretary G Ramakrishnan said CBI inquiry is better than CB-CID since the case relates to a ruling party leader. “The government has acted only after public pressure mounted. This case should be handled seriously since it is only a tip of an ice berg. Corruption is deep rooted in all departments. The charges of corruption are there not only for postings, also for transfer and promotions,“ Ramakrishnan added.
CPI also demanded a CBI investigation. “The case is enveloped in a fog of mystery. Though the government has taken a few steps in the right direction, it should hand over the case to CBI for a proper investigation and winning people’s confidence,“ CPI state secretary R Mutharasan said.
DMK functionaries point to the murder case of former Minister KN Nehru’s brother Ramajayam. “The murder case was transferred to CBCID in June 2012. But there is no progress so far in the investigations. In a few other political cases also, no headway has been made”, a former DMK Minister said.
Muthukumarasamy’s colleagues said he was an honest officer and had refused to appoint drivers recommended by the Minister’s aides. Instead, he reportedly appointed seven drivers on the basis of seniority in the list with the employment exchange. Muthukumarasamy had also refused to act on the instructions of the Minister’s aides when they wanted to collect `bribes’ from the recruited drivers.
Sources in the police probe team said the engineer had made several visits to the Minister’s office a few days before his suicide. They said call records of Muthukumarasamy showed that the personal secretaries of Krishnamoorthy had made several calls to him before his death.
This was not the first time for senior government officers committing suicide unable to withstand pressure of ruling party people for corruption. ‘The Hindu’ Tamil daily on 20.10.2013 published a report in which it was stated that “There was a bargain with the management of a private school functioning at a place owned by the TNHB for selling the land to them. The bargain talks were held by an officer of the Erode branch of the TNHB and a relative of the managing director of the TNHB with the school administrator. The video of the bargain talks were made available to the daily in which TNEB Assistant Executive Engineers said, “Already you have paid a commission of Rs. four lakhs. As there is change in sq. ft. rate we can arrive at a compromise. But you have to meet the board chairman or Minister and talk to them and one will look after the other. If the rate is fixed at Rs. 3,000 per sq. ft. you will get Rs. Seven crore. You don’t have to run the school and the place can be sold for Rs. Ten crore”.
The very next day of the publication of this report in the daily, the officer Palanisamy hung himself in the Records Room of the office and died. The matter was closed then stating that the police enquiry would reveal whether it was suicide or murder.
TNHB LPF secretary Poochi Murugan has filed a petition about this in Madras High Court which is still pending. That case is also getting delayed due to some unknown reason. Now after the suicide of an official in Tirunelveli, will the ADMK regime conduct a proper enquiry into the Erode incident also and reveal the truth? (15-03-15)
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