more-in A day after the body of V.K. Krishnan, the former panchayat president of Elamkunnapuzha who jumped off a passenger boat into the Ernakulam shipping channel, was recovered, the Mulavukad police have launched a probe into the alleged incident of suicide. Krishnan’s body was cremated after an autopsy on Friday. According to the police, a case for unnatural death has been registered. The reasons that led Krishnan to take the extreme step could be identified only after questioning those associated with the deceased, they said. The police have begun collecting statements of the witnesses in the case. The 72-year-old had jumped off the boat into the sea when it reached the shipping channel after handing over a letter to one of the passengers in which he allegedly accused the local leadership of the CPI(M) of trying to drive him out. Amid cries from the Congress, the CPI and a section of the KPMS for an inquiry against the CPI(M) for allegedly abetting the suicide, his kin have made it clear that they do not want an inquiry. “He lived for the party [CPI(M)]. He called me twice during the local committee meeting, and I never knew something of this sort was on his mind. We have lost him and it is an irreparable loss. What will we gain from an inquiry now,” asked Krishnan’s wife Aisha. S. Sarma, MLA from Vypeen, said Congress leaders who visited Krishnan’s house wanted to instigate the family into demanding an inquiry against the party instead of consoling them in their hour of grief. K.V. Thomas, MP, said the Congress would want the police to probe all angles in the case. “We aren’t forcing the family to demand a probe. But there are legal requirements in such cases and since he left behind a note that should also be probed by the police,” he said.

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