Thrissur: The doctors who conducted a post-mortem on Kalabhavan Mani have confirmed that the Malayalam actor’s death was caused by an insecticide and the methanol content in alcohol.
Earlier tests at the Kochi hospital where Mani died or the Thrissur Medical College where the post-mortem was held had not found traces of the pesticide but the Regional Analytical Laboratory in Kakkanad detected chlorpyrifos in the actor’s viscera and blood sample.
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In their first written report after obtaining the results of chemical tests after the post-mortem, forensic experts at the medical college pointed to the role of the pesticide in aggravating Mani’s liver disease. Dr P.A. Shiju and Dr Sheikh Zakeer Hussein said Mani’s liver disease was not fatal.
The Amrita Institute of Medical Science in Kochi, where Mani was admitted a day before his death, could not detect traces of pesticide in his body. The hospital lab report, however, has recommended for further tests to see if there were any dangerous chemicals in Mani’s body. These tests were not conducted, perhaps because Mani’s condition deteriorated soon after that.
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The post-mortem report suggests that the level of methanol in alcohol was not dangerously high. The prime culprit is the pesticide but it was not clear if the chemical entered Mani’s body directly or through vegetables.
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The poison is unlikely to be found in detectable quantities in the blood if it is indirectly consumed through vegetables, studies at the Kerala Agricultural University have found. The police are also collecting these reports as part of the investigation.
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The police are awaiting a report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Hyderabad, where Mani’s viscera and blood samples were sent for a re-examination. It will take at least three more weeks to get the report, which is expected to shed light on the cause of Mani’s death.
