Dead tribal man's kin rule out suicide, point to assault marks

Kozhikode: The mystery over the death of a 46-year-old tribal man from Wayanad continues days after he was found hanging with bodily injuries on the premises of the Government Medical College, Kozhikode.

The relatives of Viswanathan claimed he didn’t commit suicide but was physically assaulted and murdered as proven by the assault marks on the body.

His brother Raghavan said Viswanathan wouldn’t commit suicide as he was elated on becoming a father after eight years of marriage.

“The death took place four days after the child was born. A detailed investigation is needed,” Raghavan stated.

The brother also alleged that the postmortem on the body was carried out without obtaining the consent of his relatives.

As reported earlier Vishwanathan, who hails from Kalpetta in Wayanad, was accompanying his wife Bindu who was admitted in the Institute of Maternal and Child Health for her first delivery. After he was roughed up accused of theft, Vishwanathan apparently ran away from the hospital premises. His body was found near the old police quarters of the hospital campus last week. The body was found to be two days old and had blood stains on his nose and leg.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the man died of strangulation, the Kozhikode Medical College police said.

Police said the CCTV visuals will be examined today as part of the detailed investigation. The Human Rights Commission has taken a case suo motu case. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission too has sought a report from the Medical College authorities.

Various organizations have come forward demanding justice for Viswanathan's family.

Kalpetta legislator T Siddique has approached the Kerala Chief Minister and Director General of Police demanding that a special investigation team be deployed to probe the case.

Viswanathan's funeral was held at his house premises on Sunday.