Postmortem for Gopan Swamy; samadhi place to be demolished today

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Samadhi place of Neyyattinkara native Gopan Swamy will be demolished today after the High Court rejected the request of the family to stay the RDO's order to open and inspect the tomb. The body will be taken out and taken to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College for post-mortem under heavy police escort. The internal organs will be sent for chemical analysis. What to do with the physical body will be decided after that. Gopan Swamy was put in Samadhi by his children last Thursday. Today is the eighth day.

District Collector Anu Kumari will hand over the order to demolish the Samadhi to the police this morning. Demolition will begin soon after that. A meeting of the division's SHOs was held under the leadership of Neyyatinkara DySP S Shaji yesterday after the Collector gave instructions on how to deploy the police in the area. The police took control of the place by tying ropes and setting up barricades within a 200-meter radius. Gopan Swamy's wife and children will be detained if necessary. The Collector also gave instructions for this. The police team of Neyyatinkara station reached the spot and took control last night itself. More forces will be deployed in the area in addition to policemen from Poovar, Kanjiramkulam, Pozhiyoor and Neyyatinkara stations. This is in view of the possibility of protests by various organizations. The first attempt to demolish the tomb had to be withdrawn due to protests.

The police have cordoned off the inquest site with a tarpaulin. The inquest will be completed under the direction of Sub-Collector Alfred and Neyyattinkara Tehsildar Nandakumaran and the body will be shifted for post-mortem. It has been decided to complete the process before noon.

Must know the cause of death: High Court

KOCHI: Gopan Swamy's family had approached the High Court seeking a stay on the RDO's order to open and inspect the grave. The court asked the family where the death certificate was and who confirmed the death. The court sought an explanation from the Thiruvananthapuram District Collector and RDO to find out whether the death was natural or unnatural. With this, the situation arose where Gopan Swamy had to be taken out and post-mortem conducted.

The court clarified that if there is no death certificate, it will be treated as unnatural death. Opening the tomb is part of the investigation. Police have the power to register an FIR and open the tomb. The court also asked the family to inform how Gopan Swamy died. The plea was adjourned for hearing next week.

Justice CS Dias considered the petition filed by Gopan Swamy's wife Sulochana, sons Sanandan and Rajasenan, alleging that the decision to open the tomb was not heard.

In the petition, the action of the RDO was against their faith and customs and was blasphemous.