Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the Kerala Police is investigating the deaths of six members of a family at Koodathayi in the northern Kozhikode district, the Crime Branch has initiated a probe into the mysterious deaths of seven people over a period of 26 years - between 1991 and 2017 - in a prosperous family at Karamana in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram district.
The police suspect that caretaker of the family and a few others, who aimed to corner the property, were behind the suspicious deaths.
The seven deceased were Gopinathan Nair; his wife Sumukhiamma; the couple's three children Jayasree, Jayabalakrishnan and Jayaprakash; their kin Unnikrishnan Nair and Jayamadhavan Nair. They were members of Koodathil family at Kalady locality in Karamana.
Relatives and local people are mainly suspicious about the deaths of Jayamadhavan (in 2017), Jayaprakash (2012), and Jayabalakrishnan (2002) who were all unmarried.
Jayasree, sister of Jayakrishnan and Jayabalakrishnan, had allegedly committed suicide in 1991.
Unnikrishnan was the son of Gopinathan's elder brother Velu Pillai. Jayamadhavan was the son of Gopinathan's another elder brother Narayana Pillai.
Property eyed?
Reportedly, Koodathil family had owned buildings and assets worth crores of rupees in Kerala's capital city. Elders in the locality said that the Koodathil family owned several cents of land and buildings in the city and other areas.
A complaint filed by a relative of the dead claimed the will transferring assets worth Rs 30 crore to the caretaker, Raveendran Nair, was fake.
The Crime Branch said the deaths were suspicious and attempts could have been made to grab property, as per a report submitted to the district police chief in September 2018.
Director General of Police Loknath Behera said the deaths and subsequent transfer of assets were shrouded in mystery. However, only an investigation can confirm if they were murdered, he added.
The DGP also said it was needless to compare the Karamana deaths with the Koodathayi serial killings in which prime accused Jolly Joseph had allegedly given cyanide-laced food or drink to six members of her husband’s family to eliminate them one after the other over a period of 14 years from 2002.
Whistleblower behind probe
Journalist R Anil Kumar, who also doubles up as a social worker, had filed a complaint on June 11, 2018. Based on this, the cops at Karamana, the special branch and the district Crime Branch had conducted investigations.
In his complaint to the Chief Minister and the DGP, Kumar had pointed out that only the caretaker and his aide were aware of all the developments in the family.
He claimed the duo barred local people from entering the house. Local residents were discouraged from contacting the family members.
In his complaint, Kumar also said that after the death of the last heir, Jayamadhavan, the caretaker and some people claiming to be relatives had discreetly grabbed their property.
Prasanna Kumari, wife of one of the deceased Unnikrishnan Nair, also submitted a complaint to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan three months ago. She had pointed fingers at 12 people, including relatives and Raveendran Nair.
They divided among themselves the assets worth crores of rupees and the bank deposits. The Manakkad village officer had helped them in this, her complaint stated.
Prasanna Kumari said that she only wanted the truth to be out.
"After realising that there was something suspicious about the deaths, I filed a complaint with the police," she explained.
After the case was transferred to the Crime Branch, a fresh case was registered into the deaths and transfer of assets.
The cops are probing charges of conspiracy, cheating, forging fake will, and issuing of threats against 12 people based on Prasanna Kumari's complaint. Crime Branch DCP Mohammed Arif leads the special team of investigation.
Jayamadhavan's death
Jayamadhavan, the last deceased, had reportedly died after stumbling on the door step of the house. After suspicions were raised, a post-mortem was held and the police had filed a case. Autopsy report doesn't point to anything suspicious. The tests of the internal organs are yet to be received.
Raveendran Nair's role in the alleged murders is suspected as Jayamadhavan's assets were transferred to the former and his son as per a will dated February 2016. Mutation of property (pokkuvaravu) was also done later.
Soon after Jayamadhavan's death, Raveendran Nair had handed over Rs 25 lakh and Rs 5 lakh to two people.
The circumstances surrounding Jayamadhavan's death also give rise to doubts of foul play. Jayamadhavan had allegedly suffered injuries on his forehead. Neighbours were not alerted when he was grievously injured, however, a domestic maid, who stayed far away, was informed.
Even though one of the neighbours often parks his autorickshaw at the premises of the Koodathil house, another auto was summoned by the maid to take Jayamadhavan to the hospital.
A special branch officer, disguised as a revenue officer with a long beard, had reportedly received contradicting statements from those who are under a cloud of suspicion.
Windfall for caretaker
As many as 1.5 acre of land, which has a market value of Rs 6.5 lakh per cent, came into the hands of Raveendran Nair. Another property, which has a market value of Rs 4 lakh per cent, was given to the caretaker's aide, the Crime Branch’s report states.
The caretaker also got another 35 cents of land, totally worth Rs 5 crore, as per an alleged will prepared by Jayamadhavan on February 15, 2016, the report further states. This was not registered, but submitted via a notary. Then the mutation of land was attempted through the Manakkad village office.
One of the witnesses, who signed the will, is the maid, an illiterate. The whereabouts of the second witness are not known.
After Jayamadhavan died in April 2017, the caretaker and some other relatives fought a civil case and grabbed the land under the pretext of a settlement, the Crime Branch report further added.
Raveendran Nair refutes charges
Raveendran Nair, who is under a cloud as properties of the deceased came in his name, said that some within the family and outside were plotting a conspiracy.
"Only I had taken care of Jayamadhavan. Those who gave little heed then are pointing fingers now. I will file a defamation case against this," Raveendran Nair, who is also a court employee, countered.
The Koodathil family
The ancestral home of the financially well-off Koodathil family, christened Uma Mandiram, is in a dilapidated state now. The house is on a plot of about 16 cents on the roadside. The house is located in an urban region. It has a shopping complex and modern houses nearby.
Though neighbours said that Jayamadhavan lived in this house till 2017, it is in a pathetic state. When he stayed here, even power supply had been cut for a while, the local people claimed. However, the house presently has power supply.
The house, which is over a half-a-century old, was constructed in the traditional Nalukettu model and has several rooms. Black-and-white photographs of several family members could be still seen on its front wall, though most of the faces cannot be recognised.
Pictures of former Travancore royals can also been seen. A photo of a farewell accorded to the former Chief Minister Pattom Thanu Pillai in 1960 is one of the photographs, pointing to the status of the family in its heydays.
