Neyyattinkara DySP’s death shocks neighbours

Residents at Veilur near Kallambalam struggled to come to terms with the news of the death of suspended Neyyattinkara DySP Harikumar on Monday.

Residents gathered in front of the house of DySP B Harikumar, who committed suicide, at Veilur near Kallambalam in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday | B P Deepu

KALLAMBALAM: Residents at Veilur near Kallambalam struggled to come to terms with the news of the death of suspended Neyyattinkara DySP Harikumar on Monday. For them, the sudden death of a friendly neighbour was hard to digest. Harikumar’s close relatives, on the other hand, expressed their anguish over the negative media reports about an upright police officer.

Madhavan Nair, Harikumar’s elder bother, broke down as he spoke to media persons. He blamed the negative media reports for the officer’s death. “My brother was an upright officer. He cracked many sensational cases. But media didn’t report that. They focussed their attention to frame my brother in this case. That is unfortunate,” he said. “Harikumar decided to end his life after keeping a flower on his eldest son’s resting place,” said Madhavan.

READ | Neyyattinkara DySP accused of electrician's murder found dead

During the inquest proceedings, some relatives opposed to the media persons’ presence at the residence and shouted at them to leave the place.For his neighbours, Harikumar was a friendly person. He used to visit the house only on Sundays as he was working in Neyyattinkara. Babu, a neighbour, said Harikumar was a jovial person and used to participate in all local events. “We never expected this. We came to know about the Neyyattinkara incident from the news reports. We don’t even know whether the news is true. He was a nice person and the turn of events has shocked us,” he said.

Smitha Sundareshan, Kallambalam block panchayat vice-president, said Harikumar was a nice human being.  “I used to visit his residence. I knew him very well. I don’t know whether the reports against him are true,” she said. Gangadharan, another neighbour said Harikumar was active in local activities including the conduct of temple festivals. To pay tribute to Harikumar, locals residents put up a banner on the way to his residence.

‘God’s will has been done’
Viji, the wife of Sanal Kumar, reportedly described DySP Harikumar’s death as God’s decision. Harikumar’s death came at a time when Viji was about to start an indefinite hunger strike seeking his arrest.