Kerala government accepts the recommendation of the Special Review Committee
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – A suspended IAS officer in Kerala, K Gopalakrishnan, has been reinstated recently. The officer was suspended last November for allegedly creating a WhatsApp group based on religious lines.
The reinstatement decision was taken after the Suspension Review Committee determined there was “no substantive ground” to continue his suspension, media reports said on Thursday.
The review committee also recommended continuing the suspension of N Prasanth, a former Special Secretary in the Department of Agriculture Development and Farmers’ Welfare. His suspension has been extended by an additional 120 days, starting January 10.
According to a government order issued on January 9, Gopalakrishnan, who was serving as the Director of Industries and Commerce, will remain in service pending the finalisation of disciplinary action against him.
Prasanth, popularly known as ‘Collector Bro’ in Kerala, was suspended for criticising senior IAS officer A Jayathilak on social media, accusing him of spreading baseless allegations. The Suspension Review Committee recommended extending his suspension, which the government accepted.
The controversy surrounding Gopalakrishnan erupted when he allegedly created a WhatsApp group named “Mallu Hindu Officers,” which included officers from various communities. Gopalakrishnan claimed in a police complaint that he had not added any officers to the group and that it was deleted within hours.
Prasanth’s suspension followed his social media posts in which he accused Jayathilak of orchestrating negative media reports against him, including allegations about missing files from an initiative for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes during his tenure as CEO. The incident led to a report being submitted to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Prasanth had previously described Jayathilak as “the real mental patient of Madampally,” referencing a character from the Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu (remade in Bollywood as Bhool Bhulaiyaa), before deleting the comment. In a later post, Prasanth indirectly referred to Jayathilak as a “weed” to be removed, accompanied by an image of a weeding machine.
The decisions regarding both officers were made based on the recommendations of the Suspension Review Committee, which reviewed their cases in detail.
