IAS officer Beela Venkatesan, key figure during COVID-19 in TN, passes away at 56

Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Beela Venkatesan passed away on Wednesday, September 24, after battling brain tumor for a prolonged period. She was 56 and was serving as the secretary of the Energy department. Beela Venkatesan became a household name in Tamil Nadu during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when she held the position of Health Secretary and became a familiar face through her daily press conferences.

Dr Beela Venkatesan completed her MBBS from Madras Medical College (MMC). A doctor by profession, she cleared her civil services exam in 1997 and was initially posted in Bihar and later Jharkhand, before getting a transfer to Tamil Nadu. 

In Tamil Nadu, she has held the posts of Sub-Collector of Chengalpattu; Commissioner of Fisheries; and Commissioner for Town and Country Planning; Principal Secretary of Health; and Commissioner for Indian Medicine and Homeopathy.

Beela's mother, Rani Venkatesan, a native of Nagercoil, was a senior Congress leader and a former MLA. Her father, SN Venkatesan meanwhile, is a retired Director General of Police.