Muthukumarasamy had allegedly committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a speeding train in Tirunelveli.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Saturday sacked Agriculture Minister Agri Krishnamoorthy without citing any specific reason. The ouster comes amidst allegations that the former minister had abetted the suicide of a senior engineer in his department.
58-year-old Muthukumarasamy had allegedly committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a speeding train in Tirunelveli. Sources close to him say that he was under pressure from the former minister's camp to appoint a list of drivers they had forwarded, but being an honest officer, he chose to appoint drivers according to seniority in the employment registry.
The minister's camp had also allegedly demanded a huge sum of money from him, failing which they threatened to suspend him before his retirement, which was due this year. There have been speculations that the officer had applied for his Provident Fund money and sold family gold in order to mobilise funds to fulfill the demand.
The family members of the victim, however, refrained from speaking.
PMK Chief S Ramadoss has demanded the former minister's arrest. Tamil Nadu Congress Chief EVKS Elangovan has sought an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI into the case.
The former minister, who was sacked twice and reinstated by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa during her tenure, did not answer calls when contacted for his reaction.