Ratheesh death: autopsy report indicates possibility of murder

Kozhikode rural police begin investigation into the death

The Kozhikode rural police have started an investigation into the death of Ratheesh Kooloth, one of the accused in the Panoor Mansoor murder case.

According to police sources, the investigation under the District Crime Branch was launched to check whether the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] activist was endangered to save other suspects involved in the murder case.

It was on last Friday that the 36-year-old Panoor native who was at large after the Muslim Youth League worker's murder was found dead at Chekkiyad in the Valayam police station limits. His body was found hanging from a tree. Though it was initially registered as a case of suicide, the post-mortem report was reportedly found carrying some solid references indicating the possibility of a murder.

Soon after the death of Ratheesh, there were allegations of mystery behind the incident. Both the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Indian National Congress (INL) leaders had sought an inquiry into the incident with a claim that it was a well-planned murder.

Meanwhile, the police sources said the investigation was a follow up of the already registered case under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It would check in detail some of the suspicious references made in the post-mortem reports and the related allegations, they said.

However, senior police officials who visited Chekkiyad on Saturday for collecting more scientific evidence with the support of forensic experts and fingerprint squad remained tight-lipped over the allegations that the youth was reportedly strangled to death. They also denied revealing the details of their interactions with the medical team which conducted the post-mortem.