In a significant turn of events, suspended IAS officer Prasanth N (2007 batch) has issued legal notices to fellow suspended IAS officer K Gopalakrishnan (2013 batch), Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue Department Dr. A Jayathilak (1991-batch IAS officer), and Chief Secretary Sarada Muralidharan (1990-batch IAS officer). The notice accuses the trio of document fabrication, orchestrating false news reports, and defamation intended to tarnish Prasanth N’s reputation.
The allegations concern the Unnathi project, a welfare initiative for Scheduled Castes and Tribes. The notice claims documents implicating Prasanth N in the disappearance of key project files were fabricated. It points to anomalies such as the absence of official letterheads, numbering, and proper protocols in letters allegedly authored by K Gopalakrishnan and addressed to Dr. Jayathilak. These letters were reportedly uploaded to the government’s e-Office portal on the same date, raising questions about their authenticity.
Additionally, the notice accuses a media house of publishing false reports based on an unauthorised inquiry report allegedly submitted by Dr. Jayathilak. The reports cited anomalies in attendance records and the disappearance of project-related files, causing severe damage to Prasanth N’s professional and personal reputation.
The notice asserts that the files in question were duly handed over to the SC/ST Development Department, with documented receipt by Dr. Jayathilak. Claims of withholding documents or involvement in anomalies are labelled “deliberate lies.”
The controversy, the notice alleges, was a conspiracy orchestrated by K Gopalakrishnan and Dr. Jayathilak to deflect attention from controversies during their tenure, including a communal WhatsApp group incident. It also accuses Chief Secretary Sarada Muralidharan of failing to address these alleged illegalities.
Violations of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, and provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, are cited in the notice. It demands a public apology, a thorough investigation into the actions of K Gopalakrishnan and Dr. Jayathilak, and the suspension of Dr. Jayathilak to ensure evidence preservation.
Prasanth N was suspended last month after making personal remarks on social media against Dr. Jayathilak, calling him “mentally ill” and a “psychopath.” This occurred amid a report by Dr. Jayathilak accusing Prasanth N of irregularities in the Unnathi initiative. Recently, reports emerged that files related to the Kerala Empowerment Society (Unnathi) are missing, with Dr. Jayathilak reporting to the Chief Minister that the society’s operations have come to a standstill.