THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the dark shades surrounded the locality, Deepavali fireworks went up leaving behind a trail of smoke, dazzling colours and deafening sound. One of the boys, who used to play cricket in the empty property lying adjacent to Koodathil Veedu, could not hide his amusement of seeing so many scribes in the area.
“In one day, the place has become famous. Those who have any connection to the house are being chased by the media,” he said before bursting a cracker after placing it in the crack of the fence ringing Koodathil Veedu.
“We played here before. At that time, Jayamadhavan-the last member of the family - was alive, probably in his 60s. We rarely saw him step out of the house,” the chap said, pointing to the age-old house. The house with a tiled roof still appeared resplendent though the plaster had come off in several places. A guava tree, dried up from top to bottom, stood close to the entrance, adding a haunted feel to it.
The current generation knows little about the family or the deaths that occurred there. But the oldies have bits of memories intact about Koodathil Veedu, which was once known for the quirky characters that inhabited it and their immense wealth.
Anil (name changed), one of the few remaining relatives of the residents of Koodathil Veedu, said the family owned large tracts of land, but the members lived a squalid life. Apart from Gopinathan Nair, the patriarch of the family, the rest had scant social relations.
“The family was extremely rich and owned vast tracts of lands across the city and in the suburbs. They had prime property near KSRTC bus stand in Thampanoor, estates in Nemom, pockets of land in Kovalam and elsewhere. But the quality of life did not reflect their wealth. They wore worn-out dresses and had a reticent behaviour,” Anil said.
Jayasree, Jayapalan and Jayadev were the children of Gopinathan Nair and Sumukhi Amma, while Jayamadhavan was the son of Gopinadhan’s brother. But it is the death of Jayadev and Jayamadhavan that, according to some of the relatives, appeared fishy. Anil said Jayamadhavan had called on him two days prior to his death and he appeared to be healthy.
“He had tea with us. Later, we were told about his death. We were not even informed about his hospitalisation.” One of the neighbours said they came to know about the death because there was a marriage nearby. “Since people gathered there, someone broke the news of the death and we all came to know about it.”
Eccentric family
Anil remembered that the family members exhibited strange traits. “Jayapalan used to take tablets for several diseases though he was not suffering from any of those. Because of that, people used to call him ‘gulika’ (tablet). It was Gopinathan, who started giving them medicines.”A local resident said the men in the family were stuck to the past. “They wore old clothes and long, pointed footwear that belonged to a different era. Gopinathan’s children did not have friends of their age. In fact, their friendship was with elderly people.”Sunny, a neighbour, said Jayasree, Gopinathan’s daughter, died in 1991 after her family opposed her relationship with a nearby youth.
Caretaker under radar
The distant family members alleged that caretaker Raveendran played a role in the deaths.
“Jayamadhavan was the final heir of the family. Raveendran manipulated him and somehow got hold of the wealth after his mysterious death. The will that gave custodianship of the wealth and property to Raveendran was signed by two people. One was the family cook, Leela, who herself got a few parcels of land, as per the will. “The strange fact is Leela is illiterate and doesn’t know these legal things,” said a family member.
26 years of mystery
1991- Gopinathan Nair’s daughter Jayasree died. She collapsed suddenly in the house
1992 - Gopinathan’s son Balakrishnan died in a similar manner
1993- Unnikrishnan Nair collapsed and died
1998 - Gopinathan Nair died. It was a natural death, according to relatives
2008 - Sumukhi Amma died. It was a natural death as per relatives’ version. Thus Jayaprakash became the sole owner of the property
2012- Jayaprakash collapsed and died. Relatives allege foul play accusing the caretaker of plotting to grab the property. But there was no complaint. Later, Jayamadhavan Nair became the owner of the assets
2017 - Jayamadhavan found dead in his residence. When the relatives said it was an unnatural death, a post-mortem was conducted. In the examination, forensic surgeons raised serious doubts over the death
2018 - Prasannakumari approached the Chief Minister and DGP seeking a detailed probe into the death of Jayamadhavan and Jayaprakash. The Crime Branch conducted a preliminary probe and found that the death of Jayamadhavan was unnatural
2019 - Karamana police registered an FIR based on Crime Branch report. Relatives alleged foul play by Raveendran Nair, the caretaker, in the death of Jayaprakash and Jayamadhavan.