Kerala official suspended over offensive post on plane crash victim

Thiruvananthapuram | A government employee in Kerala has been suspended for making an offensive comment on Facebook about a Keralite nurse who died in the Ahmedabad plane crash.

A Pavithran, a junior superintendent at the Vellarikundu taluk office in Kasaragod district, was suspended on Friday after he mocked Ranjitha, a nurse from Pathanamthitta, who was among the victims of the crash.

In a Facebook post, State Revenue Minister K Rajan described Pavithran's remarks as "disgraceful", and said the suspension order was issued immediately after the post came to his attention.

Ranjitha, a mother of two, was working as a nurse in the UK. She had travelled to Kerala for a four-day visit to complete formalities related to her government job, with plans to rejoin the service after a stint abroad. She died when she boarded the ill-fated flight on her return.

Meanwhile, State Health Minister Veena George visited Ranjitha's residence in Pullad in Pathanamthitta district and consoled her two sobbing children and grief-stricken family members.

The crash occurred on Thursday afternoon when a Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI 171), carrying 242 people-- including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani-- crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad shortly after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.

Only one person survived the crash. A total of 241 people, including 168 Indians, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese and one Canadian, lost their lives.