Five library officials suspended over book purchase irregularities in Coimbatore

Four librarians and a Chief Accounts Officer have been suspended over irregularities in a book purchase for Periyar Arivulagam in Coimbatore. These officials served on the coordinating committee and the price negotiating committee for the procurement. Those suspended include S. Kamatchi, who is the in-charge Chief Librarian and Information Officer and Deputy Chief Librarian at Anna Centenary Library in Chennai, and Dinesh Kumar, the in-charge Chief Librarian and Information Officer at Kalaignar Centenary Library in Madurai. The other suspended staff are V. Santhanakrishnan, Librarian and Information Officer at Kalaignar Centenary Library and in-charge of Periyar Library; Santhana Karthikeyan, Librarian and Information Officer at Anna Centenary Library; and J. Juliet, Chief Accounts Officer at the Directorate of Public Libraries.

Context

Government libraries and public reading centres regularly procure large quantities of books through designated committees to stock their shelves. When financial or procedural rules are broken during such purchases, authorities typically suspend the responsible officials pending a formal inquiry.