Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister S S Krishnamoorthy was dropped from the cabinet on Saturday for his alleged role in the suicide of S Muthukumarasamy, an executive engineer with the Agriculture Department, who had jumped in front of a train near Tirunelveli on February 20.
Also known as Agri ‘Krishnamoorthy’, he was removed from the post of AIADMK Tiruvannamalai south secretary two days ago after the Opposition and the government employees mounted attacks on the state government and staged several protests demanding probe into Muthukumarasamy’s death.
It has been alleged that the official was facing suspension after he refused to obey certain orders from the minister’s office.
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Muthukumarasamy, who was described by colleagues as an honest officer, had three months to retire from the service. A senior AIADMK leader said Krishnamoorthy was sacked from the party post and the cabinet after evidence against him “surfaced”. Meanwhile, the opposition parties have also sought Krishnamoorthy’s arrest and a CBI probe.
A senior police official said call records, which reportedly show that the personal assistants of the AIADMK leader had made several calls to Muthukumarasamy’s number days before his suicide, were being probed.
He added that the police were also probing the details of a particular appointment, in which Muthukumarasamy had confirmed the posting of a driver as per the government approval but the minister’s office had demanded a “bribe”.
“It was one among the seven appointments he made following all procedures. Appointments seems to have followed all formalities and followed the seniority list of candidates released by the employment exchange.
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We have received complaints that there was a huge pressure from the ministry to pay the bribe amount for these appointments… We are also tracing the withdrawal of his PF fund and its purpose in connection with the case,” the official said.
Arun Janardhanan is an experienced and authoritative Tamil Nadu correspondent for The Indian Express. Based in the state, his reporting combines ground-level access with long-form clarity, offering readers a nuanced understanding of South India’s political, judicial, and cultural life - work that reflects both depth of expertise and sustained authority.
Expertise
Geographic Focus: As Tamil Nadu Correspondent focused on politics, crime, faith and disputes, Janardhanan has been also reporting extensively on Sri Lanka, producing a decade-long body of work on its elections, governance, and the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings through detailed stories and interviews.
Key Coverage Areas:
State Politics and Governance: Close reporting on the DMK and AIADMK, the emergence of new political actors such as actor Vijay’s TVK, internal party churn, Centre–State tensions, and the role of the Governor.
Legal and Judicial Affairs: Consistent coverage of the Madras High Court, including religion-linked disputes and cases involving state authority and civil liberties.
Investigations: Deep-dive series on landmark cases and unresolved questions, including the Tirupati encounter and the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, alongside multiple investigative series from Tamil Nadu.
Culture, Society, and Crisis: Reporting on cultural organisations, language debates, and disaster coverage—from cyclones to prolonged monsoon emergencies—anchored in on-the-ground detail.
His reporting has been recognised with the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism.
Beyond journalism, Janardhanan is also a screenwriter; his Malayalam feature film Aarkkariyam was released in 2021. ... Read More
