Vijaysakumedia at 21:34, 29 September 2025

2025-09-29T21:34:36Z

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{{Short description|Indian Administrative Service officer (1969–2025)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Beela Venkateshan
| image = The Executive Director, Handloom Export Promotion Council, Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India, Dr. Mrs. Beela Rajesh inaugurating a Buyer Seller Meet.jpg
|caption=Beela in the checkered saree
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1969|11|15|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Thoothukudi]], [[Tamil Nadu]], India
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2025|09|24|1969|11|15|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Chennai]], India
| children = 2
| office = Secretary at the [[Tamil Nadu Government's Departments#Tamil Nadu Government's Secretariat Departments (Head)|Commercial Taxes and Registration Department of State of Tamil Nadu]]
| term_start = 12 June 2020<ref>{{cite news |title=Amid surge in COVID-19 cases, TN govt transfers health secretary Beela Rajesh; J Radhakrishnan returns |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/chennai/article/amid-surge-in-covid-19-cases-tn-govt-transfers-health-secretary-beela-rajesh-j-radhakrishnan-returns/605374 |access-date=30 August 2020 |work=Times Now |language=en}}</ref>
| term_end = 24 September 2025
| predecessor =
| successor =
| office2 = Health Secretary at the [[Department of Health and Family Welfare (Tamil Nadu)|Department of Health and Family Welfare of State of Tamil Nadu]]
| term_start2 = 17 February 2019
| term_end2 = 12 June 2020<ref name="et">{{cite news |title=Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Beela Rajesh transferred as cases surge |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/tamil-nadu-health-secretary-beela-rajesh-transferred-as-cases-surge/articleshow/76344001.cms |access-date=24 August 2020 |work=The Economic Times |date=12 June 2020}}</ref>
| predecessor2 = [[J. Radhakrishnan]]<ref name="et"/>
| successor2 = [[J. Radhakrishnan]]<ref name="et"/>
}}

'''Beela Venkatesan''' (15 November 1969 – 24 September 2025) was an [[Indian Administrative Service]] (IAS) officer serving as the Secretary of Commercial Taxes and Registration, known for her role in managing the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Tamil Nadu|COVID-19 pandemic]] in [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref name="TNM">{{cite news |author1=Priyanka Thirumurthy |title=Who is Dr Beela Rajesh, and how is she handling the pandemic in Tamil Nadu? |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/who-dr-beela-rajesh-and-how-she-handling-pandemic-tamil-nadu-122406 |access-date=24 August 2020 |work=[[The News Minute]] |date=12 April 2020}}</ref>

== Background ==
Beela Venkatesan was born in [[Thoothukudi district|Thoothukudi District]] on 15 November 1969,<ref name="biodata">{{cite web |title=Biodata of Ms Beela Rajesh |url=https://supremo.nic.in/ERSheetHtml.aspx?OffIDErhtml=15906&PageId= |website=Single User platform Related To Employees Online (SUPREMO) |publisher=Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions |access-date=24 August 2020}}</ref> and was later based in the [[Kottivakkam]] locality of Chennai. She was born in an influential family with her mother, [[Rani Venkatesan]], being a senior [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] leader and a former [[Member of Legislative Assembly|MLA]], and her father, L. N. Venkatesan, a retired [[Director general of police]].<ref name="TNM"/> Beela was an [[MBBS]] graduate from [[Madras Medical College]] and an [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]] officer from the 1997 batch.

Her husband Rajesh Das IPS is accused of sexually harassing a woman Superintendent of Police in February. The incident allegedly happened when he and the woman officer were part of a security detail for the then Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami during an election campaign.
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2021/mar/01/former-tamil-nadu-senior-cop-rajesh-das-booked-by-cb-cid-for-sexual-harassment-of-officer-2270335.html|title=Former Tamil Nadu senior cop Rajesh das booked by CB-CID for sexual harassment of officer}}</ref>

Beela died from a [[brain tumour]] on 24 September 2025, at the age of 56.<ref>{{cite news |title=IAS officer Beela Venkatesan, key figure during COVID-19 in TN, passes away at 56 |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/tamil-nadu/ias-officer-beela-venkatesan-key-figure-during-covid-19-in-tn-passes-away-at-56 |access-date=24 September 2025 |publisher=The News Minute |date=24 September 2025}}</ref>

== Career ==
In February 2019, Beela Venkatesan was appointed Health Secretary at the [[Department of Health and Family Welfare (Tamil Nadu)|Department of Health and Family Welfare of State of Tamil Nadu]]. Prior to taking charge as the Health Secretary, she served as Commissioner, Indian Medicine and Homeopathy for the state.<ref name="nie">{{cite news |title=IAS officer Beela Rajesh takes charge as new health secretary |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2019/feb/19/beela-rajesh-takes-charge-as-new-health-secy-1940630.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220154735/http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2019/feb/19/beela-rajesh-takes-charge-as-new-health-secy-1940630.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 20, 2019 |access-date=25 August 2020 |work=The New Indian Express |date=19 February 2019}}</ref> As a Health Secretary, Beela Venkatesan was instrumental in initiating Hospital Management Information System, under which patients data across [[Tamil Nadu]] would be digitised and stored in cloud for future reference and research purposes.<ref>{{cite news |author1=S. Vijay Kumar |title=Tamil Nadu to store patient data in cloud |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/tn-to-store-patient-data-in-cloud/article29875625.ece |access-date=25 August 2020 |work=The Hindu |date=4 November 2019 |language=en-IN}}</ref> She played vital role in minimising the number of [[Dengue fever|Dengue]] cases reported in the state in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fewer dengue cases reported this year, says Health Secretary |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/fewer-dengue-cases-reported-this-year-says-health-secretary-beela-rajesh-lists-measures-taken-across-state-to-tackle-mosquito-borne-disease/article29621841.ece |access-date=25 August 2020 |work=The Hindu |date=9 October 2019 |language=en-IN}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Twitter|drbeelaias}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajesh, Beela}}
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:2025 deaths]]
[[Category:COVID-19 pandemic in India]]
[[Category:Indian Administrative Service officers]]
[[Category:People from Thoothukudi district]]
[[Category:Deaths from brain cancer in India]]

Beela Venkateshan - Revision history

Vijaysakumedia at 21:34, 29 September 2025