ADM’s death: Health dept. suspends Prashanth citing misconduct, violation of service rules

The temporary employee at Government Medical College, Kannur, applied for a petrol pump while in government service and he was allegedly involved in a bribery case, both in violation of govt. employees’ code of conduct

by · The Hindu

The Health department has suspended T.V. Prashanth, a temporary employee at Government Medical College, Kannur, alleging misconduct and violation of service rules. The department took the action after it emerged that he had applied for a petrol pump while in government service and that he was allegedly involved in a bribery case, actions that breached the code of conduct for government employees.

The disciplinary action by the Health department follows the death of Additional District Magistrate (ADM) K. Naveen Babu under controversial circumstances over a bribery allegation. Health Minister Veena George faced questions on how Mr. Prashanth, a government employee, could apply for a petrol pump and why no action was taken against him.

Further action likely

An internal inquiry by the Secretary of the Health department, which reported definitive findings against Mr. Prasanth, prompted the suspension, and the department indicated that more stringent measures may be forthcoming.

Mr. Prashanth, who worked as a electrical helper, initially filed a complaint against Naveen, alleging that he had demanded a bribe of ₹98,500, which he claimed to have paid by pledging gold. However, doubts about the validity of his complaint arose when inconsistencies were found between his signature on the petrol pump lease agreement and the one on the bribery complaint sent to the Chief Minister.

These discrepancies fuelled allegations that Mr. Prashanth’s complaint against Naveen may have been fabricated. They were also allegations that it could have been orchestrated to protect former district panchayat president P.P. Divya, who is also embroiled in controversies surrounding the circumstances of Naveen’s death.

Published - October 26, 2024 07:54 pm IST