Kerala official suspended over offensive comments on Malayali nurse in Gujarat plane crash
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The Kerala government has suspended A. Pavithran, a senior revenue official, after he allegedly made derogatory remarks on social media about nurse Ranjitha Gopakumaran, who tragically lost her life in the Air India crash near Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Ranjitha, originally from Pathanamthitta district, had been working as a nurse in the United Kingdom for nearly a year. She had returned home briefly to oversee the construction of her house and was on her way back to the UK when the accident occurred. She is survived by her husband, Vineesh, their two school-going children, and her mother, Thulasi.
Kerala Revenue Minister K. Rajan confirmed the suspension of Pavithran, who was serving as Deputy Tehsildar in Vellarikundu taluk, Kasaragod district. The minister condemned the official’s Facebook post as “heinous” and stated that action was taken immediately after the remarks came to the government’s attention.
In the controversial post, now deleted, Pavithran allegedly used casteist and offensive language to describe Ranjitha. He also made insensitive comments about the pilot of the doomed aircraft, posting from an alternate Facebook account named Pavi Anandashram: “The pilot acted like a driver of an autorickshaw, he crash-landed the flight in a place where several doctors were staying. A Nair woman from Kerala also died. She got a job in Kerala, but took leave and went abroad, spoiling another person’s chance. I don’t feel anything. Condolences for all.”
The post triggered widespread outrage, leading to its removal and disciplinary action against the official.
According to local panchayat member Johnson Thomas, Ranjitha had come to Kerala just three days before the crash and had plans to return to work in the state health department after completing her contract in the UK.
The ill-fated Air India Flight AI-171, carrying 242 people, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad en route to London, claiming 241 lives. The aircraft struck a residential area near the airport, killing passengers and injuring several people on the ground, including individuals at a nearby medical college dining hall.
Only one passenger survived.
