THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A former panchayat member, who was reported missing, was found dead on Saturday morning in a fully burnt state in a banana farm at Mannamoola near Peroorkada. The deceased is Ajayakumar, 68, a resident of Ardhram, Cheruvakkal, Sreekaryam.
He was a former member of Mannamoola ward of erstwhile Vattiyoorkavu panchayat and a Congress worker. The Peroorkada police have registered a case under Section 174 (unnatural death) of Indian Penal Code and a probe has begun. According to police, the charred body of Ajayakumar was found around 8am by a nearby resident of Irumbarath Lane, and he informed the police. The police said that he was living at his daughter’s residence at Sreekaryam and left home a week ago after quarrelling with her.
The relatives did not file any missing person complaint at Sreekaryam police station. However, he was found dead in the banana farm and the police ruled out the possibility of murder. The police suspect it as a case of suicide and will also collect the CCTV footage as part of the probe. “Prima facie, he might have committed suicide. We found two empty liquor bottles nearby.
There were no signs of murder as a forensic examination was conducted. However, we are waiting for the autopsy report and will take further steps based on the report. Similarly, we will interrogate his relatives,” said S V Rakesh, Peroorkada sub-inspector of police. The post-mortem examination was held at the medical college hospital on Saturday.