Kerala Revenue Official Suspended for Making Derogatory Remarks Against Nurse Who Perished in Ahmedabad Plane Crash

Thiruvananthapuram: A junior superintendent with the revenue department in Kerala has been suspended for making misogynistic and casteist remarks against a Malayali nurse who tragically died in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

The junior superintendent identified as A Pavithran posted at the Vellarikundu Taluk office in Kasaragod district, was suspended by district collector K Inbasekar on Friday. The complaint was filed due to his derogatory comments about the deceased woman that insulted womanhood and brought "disrepute to the revenue department."

The Collector also recommended Pavithran's dismissal from government service.

The remarks were made against Renjitha Gopakumaran Nair, a resident of Koipuram panchayat in Pathanamthitta, who was among the 242 victims of the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad.

Renjitha had recently received a job in the state health service department. She took leave to travel to London, where she was to complete her remaining service tenure as per the job contract.

Unfortunately, she boarded the ill-fated Air India plane.

In a Facebook comment, Pavithran wrote; ``There was one Nair woman (among the victims). The Kerala government gave her a job. She took leave and went abroad for ....Got what she deserved." He also made sexist remarks referring to the community in another comment.

Following public outrage on social media, he deleted his comments. Disciplinary action was taken against him after complaints were lodged by a group of individuals.

The Collector recollected that Pavithran had previously been suspended in September 2024 for making a casteist slur against Kanhangad MLA E Chandrashekharan.

"Chandrashekharan is the worst revenue minister I have had since I joined the service. Although the MLA does not use "Nair " in his name, he belongs to that community,” he wrote on Facebook.

Pavithran claimed that he was the senior-most member of the CPI staff union Joint Council. However, the MLA favoured his nephews for key positions and filled the Joint Council with members of his community while ignoring those from the Scheduled Castes.