BJP leader collapses and dies after bail release; Allegations point to CPM involvement in imprisonment

KAYAMKULAM: After being arrested and released, a BJP local leader who was jailed in a non-bailable case following political interference and later released on bail, collapsed and died. Manoj (47) collapsed at his home in Alamballilveedu, east of Krishnapuram Kappil, yesterday afternoon. He was taken to Kayamkulam Government Hospital but could not be saved.

A complaint was lodged with the Kayamkulam police against Manoj alleging that he had assaulted a 14-year-old boy from a Tamil Nadu family living nearby. He was arrested on May 22 and released but was summoned on May 23, charged with attempted murder and remanded. The court granted bail the very next day.

It is alleged that the CPM demanded that he be jailed under the non-bailable section. Relatives said Manoj was distraught after facing severe cyber attacks. The body will be released today after a post-mortem at Alappuzha Medical College Hospital. He is survived by his wife Kala and children, Kalidas and Mridula.

Manoj's death comes even as the BJP has announced a legal battle against the Kayamkulam CI. BJP alleged that Manoj was jailed without bail under section 308 at the behest of the CPM in an incident where there was a trivial argument.

Manoj was the first to complain to the police. No case had been filed initially. Two days later, on the insistence of local leaders of the CPM in Krishnapuram, the opposing parties filed a complaint at the Kayamkulam police station. Manoj's complaint stated that the 14-year-old assaulted him when he stopped the boy from picking scrap from his house.