CHENNAI: State Energy department secretary Beela Venkatesan passed away after a prolonged illness on Wednesday. She was 56.

Beela was a trained doctor, having completed her MBBS from Madras Medical College (MMC). She cleared her civil services exam in 1997 and was initially posted in Bihar and then Jharkhand, before being moved to Tamil Nadu.

Condoling Beela’s passing, Chief Minister MK Stalin praised the officer’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she was secretary of the health department. "She served in several high capacity posts. Her demise is saddening," he said.

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