THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Suspended IAS officer Prasanth N marked the anniversary of his suspension with a strongly worded Facebook post on Tuesday alleging large-scale corruption and administrative misconduct by senior bureaucrats, including Chief Secretary A Jayathilak and former Chief Secretary Sarada Muralidharan.
Prasanth said his suspension stemmed from a Facebook post quoting the film Manichitrathazhu — “Madampalliyile manorogi” — which he described as a harmless idiomatic expression misunderstood by officials “who don’t understand basic Malayalam or local culture.” He claimed there were no complaints or violations of platform rules, asserting that the real reason behind his suspension was his exposure of corruption involving senior IAS officers.
In his post, Prasanth accused Jayathilak of absenteeism, citing RTI-based records that allegedly showed him attending office on “fewer than five days a month” over nearly two years. He also referred to the Muttil tree-felling case in Wayanad, alleging that a controversial order issued by Jayathilak led to losses of over Rs 12 crore in valuable timber.
He further cited corruption complaints in the PM-AJAY scheme, ghost training projects, and alleged irregularities in the Spices Board during Jayathilak’s tenure as chairman, where CBI reportedly recommended an FIR over routing travel business to a private agency. “The accused officer later became Chief Secretary and closed the very cases against himself,” Prasanth wrote.
Other allegations included interference in the Vizhinjam shipwreck inquiry, manipulation of the e-Office system in the Secretariat, harassment of subordinates, and suppression of property declarations. He claimed multiple written complaints and audit findings were ignored.
Prasanth also criticised former Chief Secretary Sarada Muralidharan for shielding erring officers and lacking “moral courage” to act on corruption. “If an empowered Chief Secretary-ranked lady doesn’t know how to stand up for her rights, how can we expect the poor and vulnerable women to fight their battles?” he wrote.
Defending his own actions, Prasanth said he had been punished for speaking truth to power while “a blatantly corrupt officer continues to enjoy life at public expense.” He concluded with a defiant note: “To harass and silence me is too optimistic an attempt. The game is yet to commence. Dharmo rakshati rakshitah.”
He added that all allegations were sourced from official documents, RTI records and published reports, the links to which he said were provided in the comment section of his post.