8 plaints, 5-year probe, Kerala Vigilance got no proof of graft against Gyanesh Kumar, KSTP; case closed in 2012

Thiruvananthapuram: The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), which probed the alleged irregularities in the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP), had closed the case for want of evidence, and no corruption angle was found. The VACB Special Investigation Unit-1 (SIU-1) has now reopened the case following directions from the home department. The probe assumes significance as it covers Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar's stint in Kerala.

Gyanesh Kumar, who is now facing the heat for taking decisions on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) without consulting the other two Election Commissioners, was replaced as the PWD secretary in 2006 following allegations of irregularities in KSTP. The Congress-led state government has now ordered a re-investigation when the beleaguered official is facing intense protests over alleged malpractices in the SIR. INDIA-bloc MPs were arrested and detained during the protests demanding the CEC's resignation. Former Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac has also levelled serious allegations of corruption against Gyanesh Kumar during his tenure in Kerala.

The vigilance probe, initiated in 2007, centred around eight complaints and went on till 2012. According to senior officials with the VACB, no evidence was detected to take the probe towards prosecution stage, and it was communicated to the state government.

The SIU-1 has now collected a voluminous set of records dating back to 2007 to reinvestigate the case. “The complaints were mostly around delay in land acquisition, awarding of contract and the like. All the eight complaints were probed for nearly six years. The complaints covered various aspects of the project as a whole. They were not specifically against Gyanesh Kumar. No corruption angle was found. Statements were taken from previous contractors, officials and senior PWD officials, including former secretaries," a Vigilance official told Onmanorama. The SIU-1 will now sift through the old records to find out if any complaint was overlooked. The team, headed by SP Emmanuel Paul, will submit a report regarding the prospects of a future investigation after a thorough scrutiny of records.

Onmanorama had earlier reported, citing Assembly records, that the previous governments had initiated at least four vigilance investigations related to the KSTP. Former Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had informed the Assembly in 2010 that the investigations were underway and no final report could be furnished.

Sources said that as part of the re-investigation, the Vigilance will be mainly looking into corruption allegations which had surfaced against former PWD officials, including the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who had served as the PWD secretary in 2006. The multi-crore, World Bank-funded project was executed by the joint venture comprising Malaysian contractor PATI and Kerala-based Bhageeratha Engineering Limited.

A former contractor associated with the project told Onmanorama that the present investigation was driven by political interests. "Since it was a World Bank-funded project, there are clear conditions in the contract. PATI had won arbitration claims following complaints, and this was done in compliance with the contract conditions. Even the former Vigilance officials are learnt to have collected statements as part of the probe initiated earlier," the contractor said. In 2006, the company had raised arbitration claims of ₹96 crore which was then settled at ₹35 crore, according to old news reports.

According to people formerly associated with the project, PATI, a Malaysian government undertaking, was disbanded and was taken over by another firm and chances are very remote on collecting relevant information related to the project now. M K Muneer, who had earlier served as the PWD minister, has told reporters that he had been absolved of any wrongdoing in the Vigilance case and he welcomed the new probe ordered by the state government.

There are also doubts regarding the suicide note purportedly written by PATI Chief Project Manager Lee See Been, who ended his life in November 2006 following a dispute with the Kerala government over delayed payments. Officials said that they could not come across records showing formal complaints raised by Lee's family or his note during the preliminary investigation. Jacob Punnose, who had then served as the ADGP, Intelligence, has also told Onmanorama that he had not seen the suicide note since a formal request was never raised via the Centre to the Malaysian police.

While the VACB probe didn't unearth evidence of corruption in KSTP case, former police officials had raised doubts on how Gyanesh managed to get deputation and leave the state even when a probe was underway.