TN officer suicide: Ex-agri minister S S Krishnamoorthy, colleague held

After the suicide snowballed into a major controversy, Krishnamoorthy had resigned as Agriculture Minister on March 7.

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The Crime Branch-CID of the Tamil Nadu Police arrested the former minister and Chief Engineer Senthil on three charges, including abetment of suicide. Both were remanded to 15 days judicial custody. The AIADMK later removed Krishnamoorthy from all party posts.

Officials said Muthukumarasamy’s wife had told them he often got a call from a “CE”. It is believed “CE” stood for Senthil.

Those close to the officer have alleged that there was pressure on him from Krishnamoorthy’s office to seek Rs 14 lakh each from those being hired for the temporary contract posts of drivers, with a salary of Rs 9,000 a month.

The Opposition has been holding protests on the issue, and the arrest finally followed after some Aam Aadmi Party activists barged into the residence of Chief Minister O Panneerselvam.

DMK chief M Karunanidhi and Congress leader E V K S Elangovan had earlier released call data records of Muthukumarasamy, saying this proved the role of then minister’s office in his suicide.

The CPM and PMK have been demanding a CBI probe, saying that the CB-CID, which falls under the state police, would not carry out an impartial probe.

A week ago, Muthukumarasamy’s son Sethuram had asked why Senthil’s role was not being probed. “His frequent calls used to put my father under severe pressure. After his death, Senthil came and offered us a job in Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu. We denied it, but I wonder how an Agriculture Department Chief Engineer could offer a job in the IT Ministry,” Sethuram said.

Earlier, the district collector of Tirunelveli town had confirmed to The Indian Express that Muthukumarasamy had complained about pressure on him from the minister’s secretaries.