Govt official suspended for obscene post on Ahmedabad plane crash victim

KASARGOD: A. Pavithran, Junior Superintendent at the Vellarikundu Taluk office, has been suspended from service after posting a vulgar and derogatory comment on social media about Ranjitha R Nair, the Malayali woman who died in the tragic Air India crash in Ahmedabad.

The issue surfaced when Pavithran left an obscene remark under a condolence message for Ranjitha on Facebook, triggering widespread outrage and protests across social media platforms. In response to the growing backlash, Revenue Minister K Rajan directed Kasaragod District Collector Imbasekar K to suspend Pavithran with immediate effect.

“This kind of despicable behaviour is unbecoming of a government employee,” said Minister Rajan in a Facebook post, confirming that an immediate suspension order was issued.

This is not Pavithran’s first offence. In September 2024, he was previously suspended for making abusive comments about former minister and MLA E Chandrasekaran. That suspension was revoked just a month ago.

Though Pavithran deleted the offensive comment, calls are now growing for his permanent dismissal from government service, with many terming his behaviour as “habitual misconduct.”

The Kerala government has reiterated its zero-tolerance policy toward online abuse, especially from public servants.

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