CHENNAI: Beela Venkatesan, a 1997-batch IAS officer who was serving as the Energy Secretary of Tamil Nadu, died at her residence in Chennai on Wednesday. The 55-year-old officer was fighting an illness that was diagnosed at an advanced stage a few months ago. She is survived by two daughters.
Beela, hailing from Kanniyakumari district, was the daughter of Rani Venkatesan, a senior Congress leader and former MLA, and LN Venkatesan, a former DGP.
Born on November 15, 1969, she was an MBBS graduate from the Madras Medical College. She had served as sub-collector of Chengalpattu district, special officer in the CM Cell at the secretariat, Commissioner of Fisheries and Commissioner of Town and Country Planning, among others. She came under media glare during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 when she was serving as the Tamil Nadu health secretary. She was later replaced by senior IAS officer J Radhakrishnan
The other departments she had served include finance, personnel and general administration, social justice and empowerment, municipal administration, education, textiles, land reforms, etc. Since June 2023, she has been working as Secretary of the Energy Department.
Beela got married to IPS officer Rajesh Das from Odisha in 1992. Das was convicted in June 2023 for sexually harassing a woman IPS officer. Beela got separated from her husband and officially changed her name from Beela Rajesh to Beela Venkatesan in December 2023.
Expressing shock at the demise of Beela, Chief Minister MK Stalin recalled her contributions as a civil servant in various departments. He said Beela served as the health secretary during the challenging period when the state reeled under the Covid-19 pandemic. The CM also conveyed his condolences to her family members and the IAS fraternity.
Governor RN Ravi, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, former CM O Panneerselvam, TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran, and AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran have condoled the death.