Kerala police probe death of 7 family members

A RELATIVE OF THE SEVEN HAS ACCUSED THE CARETAKER OF GRABBING THE FAMILY’S PROPERTY AFTER FUDGING THEIR WILL

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: THE Kerala police have begun a probe into the deaths of seven members of a family between 1991 to 2007 in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram after registering a case against their caretaker and six others for allegedly usurping their property, a top officer said.

Kerala police chief Loknath Behra said that a special investigation team under deputy police commissioner (crime) Mohamed Arif has been formed to probe the case after their initial inquiry found some discrepancies.

The case came under the spotlight after it was widely reported last month that a woman allegedly killed her six relatives by lacing their food with potassium cyanide in north Kerala.

In the new case, complaint Prasanna

Kumari, a relative of the seven, has accused the caretaker, Ravindran Nair, of grabbing the family’s property after fudging their will. Kumari alleged that he illegally transferred some of the family’s properties to a trust. She said all the deaths in the family were shrouded in mystery. She added that they were not even informed about the deaths of the last two members of the family, her cousins Jayaprakash Nair and Jayamadhavan Nair.

Ravindran Nair said that he took care of the family well and the properties were bequeathed to him in Jayamadhavan Nair’s will voluntarily. But later police found that the will was prepared after his death, according to the people cited above. The caretaker said that the family’s property was worth ₹30 crore while some local residents claimed it could be worth ₹300 crore.

“We have credible doubts about the last two deaths. The caretaker told us both were under treatment for mental illness. When we sought medical reports, they were destroyed. Jayamadhavan’s post mortem clearly stated it was an unnatural death. Witnesses also said there were some wounds...,” said Kumari.