Death of man who posted on Facebook opposing his wife contesting election; special investigation team to investigate the case

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government will appoint a special investigation team to probe the mysterious death of M Ajith Kumar, who had put up a Facebook post opposing the decision to field his wife in the local body elections. The action comes after Minister GR Anil wrote to the Chief Minister seeking a special probe. Ajith's parents had also submitted a complaint to the Chief Minister demanding that the investigation be taken away from the Vattappara police. Ajith's wife Beena, a former block panchayat member, had contested the local body elections from Vembayam panchayat as a Congress candidate but was defeated.

Ajith was found dead in the office room of his house at around 5 a.m. on October 19. His son Vinayak Shankar initially told the police that Ajith had committed suicide following family problems. However, the post-mortem report stated that the cause of death was head injuries.

Later, Vinayak told the police that he had a physical fight with his father on the day of the incident and that he had hit Ajith with a stick. The police also questioned Ajith’s wife Beena. She told the police that a scuffle broke out between Ajith and their son over a vehicle key. During the struggle, Ajith allegedly tried to hit his son with a torch, after which the son hit Ajith with a chembarathi (hibiscus) stick, according to her statement.