'Possessed by Aralumoodu Gopan Swami's ghost'; man unleashes violence in village and attacks police; vehicles vandalized

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A man has unleashed violence in the village, claiming that the ghost of Neyyattinkara Gopan has possessed his body. The violence took place at around 12:30 last night in Chemparathivila, Thozhukkal, Neyyattinkara. Three youths in the area were beaten up for no reason and their vehicles were vandalized.

The attack was carried out by a man named Aneesh. He is said to be a priest at a temple. After being informed by the locals, the police arrived at night, took the man into custody and took him to Neyyattinkara General Hospital. He had been repeatedly saying that the spirit of Aralumoodu Gopan Swami has entered his body. He became violent in the hospital also. He even got into a fight with the police. All three youths who were beaten up are injured. The vehicles are also damaged.

Meanwhile, Gopan's postmortem report was released yesterday. The postmortem report says that there were bruises in four places on the body, including the face, nose and head. However, it is indicated that these bruises were not the cause of death.

Gopan had liver cirrhosis. He also had cysts in his kidneys and a 75 percent blockage in his coronary arteries. The real cause of death will be clear only after the results of the chemical test come. Gopan died on January 9. Gopan's children said that he was put in a samadhi only as per his wishes. Locals filed a complaint raising doubts about his death. The body was exhumed and examined later after the High Court intervened in the matter.