New Delhi: The United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala, which is headed by the Congress, has ordered a preliminary inquiry, investigating a 20-year old corruption charge against current CEC Gyanesh Kumar, who, at the time was the Public Works Department (PWD)’s secretary, according to a report in The Hindu. Kumar belongs to the Kerala cadre of Indian Administrative Service officers. The accusation places Kumar in the grips of a previously dormant controversy. The Kerala home ministry has instructed the state Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau chairman to look into the life of PATI-BEL consortium, an Indo-Malaysian construction company which was supposed to upgrade the Main Central Road from Angamaly to Thiruvananthapuram, under the state transportation department. The project was reportedly marked by “inordinate delays and cost investigations.” The government in power at the time was the previous UDF coalition. Lee See Ben, the project’s chief engineer died by suicide in 2006, and his death is speculated to be linked to the project and its deep-set corruption. An earlier vigilance inquiry, ordered after the death of the chief engineer, had resulted in the removal of Kumar as secretary. After his stint in Kerala, Lee See Ben returned to Kuala Lumpur, where he is said to have written two notes: one to his wife, and the other to his company. In both letters, Ben spoke about his “bitter experiences at the hands of government officials in others in Kerala.”A report in the Hindustan Times from November 2006 states that Kumar has been named in the note. “Vigilance has enquired about all those details even in the suicide notes. Later, the inquiry was abruptly stopped. I felt a detailed inquiry was necessary based on the complaint filed by Venugopal. After speaking to the Chief Minister, I directed Vigilance Director Manoj Abraham to conduct a detailed enquiry,” Kerala home minister Ramesh Chennithala said. The project began in April 2003 with a three year deadline, due to be completed by August 2006. However, over that period of time, a mere 30 percent of the work was done. The revival of the enquiry against Kumar comes at a time when Kumar is already under massive scrutiny from the opposition and civil society, as protests demanding his resignation as CEC gather steam across the country. Kumar is under fire due to the grossly mismanaged SIR (Special Intensive Revision), which is currently underway. For our full coverage on the SIR and the issues it has brought to citizens, click here.If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation maintains a list of telephone numbers they can call to speak in confidence. Icall, a counselling service run by TISS, has maintained a crowdsourced list of therapists across the country. You could also take them to the nearest hospital.