TIRUNELVELI: As mystery shrouds the death of Tirunelveli East District Congress president KPK Jeyakumar Dhanasingh, police sources said that an investigation is on to ascertain if the death was by suicide or murder. Police have issued summons to nearly 30 people, particularly those named in Jeyakumar’s purported ‘death declaration’.
Jeyakumar’s charred body was recovered from his farm near his house on Saturday, two days after he went missing. His son, J Karuthaiah Jafrin, had complained to the Uvari police, demanding to trace his missing father on Friday.
“During the recovery of Jeyakumar’s body from the farm, police personnel and villagers noticed that Jeyakumar’s hands and legs were loosely tied with power cables. This suggests that he may have been killed by someone. However, no major injuries were noticed on his body. It is odd that no one, including family members and Karaisuthuputhur villagers, noticed the incident which took place a few hundred metres away from his residence. We cannot rule out the suicide angle as there are signs that he ended his life. His death is being investigated from both angles,” police sources said.
Some of the persons summoned by the police have given their statements, while a few have switched off their mobile phones. On Monday, a police team visited former union minister Dhanushkodi Athithan’s house and conducted an inquiry for nearly two hours.
Meanwhile, former TNCC president KS Alagiri consoled Jeyakumar’s family. “Jeyakumar’s case is a challenge to the police department, and I hope that the police will find out the reason behind his death at the earliest,” Alagiri told media persons. The police also issued summons to Nanguneri Congress MLA Ruby Manoharan.
Sources said that some members of Jeyakumar’s family have called for a DNA test to verify whether the charred body is indeed that of Jeyakumar.
