Mystery surrounding death of Customs officer and family from Jharkhand resolved; postmortem report out

KOCHI: The mystery surrounding the death of Manish Vijay (43), an Additional Commissioner of Central GST and Customs Audit Commissionerate, a native of Jharkhand, his sister Shalini (51), and mother Shakuntala Agarwal (82) has been solved. The initial postmortem report revealed that Shakuntala also hanged herself.

The police investigation had not ruled out the possibility that the children killed Shakuntala and committed suicide. There was a four-hour difference between the deaths of Shakuntala and her children. It is believed that Manish and Shalini may have hanged themselves due to the shock of their mother's death. The children were found hanging in two rooms, and Shakuntala's body was found on the bed covered with a white blanket and flowers.

It is believed that the two committed suicide after offering prayers and scattering flowers on their mother's body. Manish's sister Shalini is an accused in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission exam cheating case. It is reported that they committed suicide between the 13th and 15th. The bodies were found on Thursday in the villa-style flat in the Central Excise Quarters on Kakkanad's Padamugal Road.