Thiruvananthapuram: The district unit of the Crime Branch is in the final stages of investigating the mysterious deaths of seven members of a family at Karamana Koodam locality.
The police have received information about the vehicle in which Jayamadhavan Nair was taken to the hospital on his last day three years ago. He is the last among the seven members of the Koodathil family to die mysteriously as alleged in a complaint to the police by a kin.
According to Raveendran Nair, the then manager of the family affairs, Jayamadhavan had injured himself as he fell down from the bed and was taken in an autorickshaw arranged by ex-aide Sahadevan on April 2, 2017.
Raveendran had earlier said when he reached the Koodathil House, named Umamandiram, on the fateful day, he saw Jayamadhavan lying on the floor apparently after falling from his bed.
The probe team has found that Raveendran's version is incorrect and that he was taken to the hospital in his friend's vehicle. This friend has not yet been brought under the purview of the investigation.
With this crucial finding, Raveendran will have to explain about his statement that he had called an autorickshaw with the help of Sahadevan. However, Sahadevan has already stated that he didn't arrange for the vehicle.
According to the postmortem report, Jayamadhavan's death was due to a head injury. The Crime Branch is waiting for the forensic report to determine how exactly he had received the injury.
According to information received by the police officials from forensic experts, the deceased did not suffer the injury after falling from bed.
Investigating officials said they would complete the inquiry into the case by the middle of next month and submit a report once the forensic report is obtained.
Housemaid's version too under a cloud
The Crime Branch is also looking into the discrepancies in the statement of housemaid Leela. It is investigating if there was any attempt to delay taking Jayamadhavan to the hospital.
According to the statements of Leela and Raveendran, he was admitted to the Trivandrum Medical College Hospital around 7.50 am and was immediately pronounced dead. The Crime Branch has written to Medical College authorities to check if this is true. It is also trying to ascertain if Jayamadhavan was taken to the General Hospital in the Kerala capital.
Meanwhile, proceedings are underway to record the statements of those who have levelled allegations against Raveendran. Some had claimed that Jayamadhavan was planning to get married and that some people were trying to scuttle the alliance.
The investigation had commenced based on a complaint by Prasanna Kumari, a family member, who alleged that some of the seven deaths in the Koodathil family since 1971 are suspicious.
Mysterious Deaths at Umamandiram, the Residence of the Koodathil Family
1. Gopinathan Nair -- Died in 1998.
2. Sumukhiamma, Gopinathan Nair's wife - Died in 2008.
3. Jayasree, daughter of the deceased couple; she was below 30 - Died in 1991.
4. Jayabalakrishnan, son of the deceased couple; he was in his forties -- Died in 2002.
5. Jayaprakash, another son of the dead couple; he too was in his 40s; the manager claimed he died after a fall from the bed.
6. Narayana Pillai, brother of Gopinathan Nair -- Died in 1972.
7. Jayamadhavan Nair, Narayana Pillai's son; the manager said he injured after a fall from bed - Died on April 2, 2017.
* Locals suspect foul play in the deaths of Jayamadhavan, Jayaprakash and Jayabalakrishnan.
* Prasanna Kumari, the complainant, is the wife of Velupillai, another brother of Gopinathan Nair and Narayana Pillai. Their son is Unnikrishnan Nair.