Thiruvananthapuram: The government on Monday suspended the under-secretary of the Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) for tampering with official file notes to benefit KAAPA detainee and Thiruvananthapuram BJP councillor R Sugathan.

The suspended official, Chithra Arunima, was facing a departmental inquiry over her handling of files related to Sugathan's leave application. The suspension order says she altered file notes in a manner that favoured the accused, amounting to a serious breach of official conduct and damaging the government's image.

Sugathan, a councillor of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, is lodged in Viyyur High Security Prison under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA). He became the first elected representative of a civic body in Kerala to be granted long-term leave while under preventive detention.

The controversy stemmed from a proposal that would have enabled Sugathan to avoid disqualification from the council. Under the Kerala Municipality Act, councillors can be granted leave of up to six months to prevent disqualification for absence from council meetings.

An internal file, accessed earlier by Onmanorama, showed that Chitra had forwarded a proposal seeking the LSGD Minister's opinion on allowing escort parole for Sugathan to attend council meetings, even though matters relating to parole fall under the Home Department.

The file reportedly presented two options: reject the request on the ground that parole is granted only on humanitarian considerations, or permit Sugathan to submit a leave application through the prison superintendent. It further suggested that if the municipal council approved the leave, the councillor could avoid disqualification without the need for parole.

However, both LSGD Minister K M Shaji and Special Secretary S Shanavas had, on July 8, recorded that Sugathan's request should be rejected. Despite this, an unofficial note prepared on July 18 and signed by the undersecretary was forwarded to the Home Department, reiterating the option of filing a leave application. Departmental scrutiny later found that this recommendation had been recorded without any discussion or approval from the competent authorities, a lapse that formed the basis of the disciplinary action.