Nilambur: The reins of Beed district in Maharashtra are now in the hands of two Malayali IAS officers from Malappuram, fondly dubbed the `Malappuram Bros'. Vivek Johnson from Munduparambu is serving as the District Collector, while Jithin Rahman from Nilambur has taken charge as the Chief Executive Officer of the Beed District Panchayat.

Their bond goes beyond professional titles. Vivek and Jithin were classmates during their engineering days and later reunited during their civil service training in Thiruvananthapuram. Both hail from banking families with strong ties to Kerala Gramin Bank. While Vivek’s mother Meena was an officer in the Bank, Jithin’s father Asees Rahman had served as a senior manager.

Vivek Johnson, a 2018 batch IAS officer, began his administrative journey as CEO of the Chandrapur District Panchayat. Three months ago, he was appointed as the Collector of Beed. He is the third of four sons of M B Johnson, a retired Joint RTO from Moonampadi, Malappuram, and Meena. His wife, Manju Anna, is a senior manager at SBI in Chandrapur and the couple has a daughter, Helen.

Jithin Rahman, a 2020 batch IAS officer, started his career as Assistant Collector in Nashik. He later served as CEO of the Wardha District Panchayat before being transferred to Beed a month ago.

He is the son of Asees Rahman and Subaida of Mayyamthani Kunnathuparamb, Nilambur. His wife, Sadiya, is an IIM Lucknow graduate and currently runs a construction company in Muscat. Beed district currently falls under the charge of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.