Justin Raj: Famous contractor behind many high-rise buildings in Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Justin Raj was a PWD contractor and the man behind several high-rise buildings in the capital city. He had extensive experience in building construction, and only recently did he got tangled in financial difficulty.

Justin had undertaken and constructed the DGP office, stations in Thampanoor and Ponmudi, and several projects of the Habitat Group. Since the government did not pay its bills on time, Justin was forced to take loans from many people to complete the projects he had undertaken. Soon after, people demanded their money back and started nagging the contractor. This led to Justin choosing the hotel business to wriggle out of the debt trap.

Justin turned into a hotel business along with three of his friends. Curiously, he kept the news secret from his relatives. To some of his friends, Justin admitted to earning Rs 30,000 monthly from the hotel business. Justin Raj was an active member of the CSI Church and a close friend of the late Bishop Dharmaraj Rasalat.

Justin Raj, a heart patient, had recently undergone angioplasty and had a stent inserted. Due to this, he was physically exhausted. As a person meticulous in his dealings, it was Justin who looked after affairs at the hotel. The postmortem report states that the accused hit him hard and broke the bones in his chest. Since he was physically weak, Justin was unable to resist the attack.

Justin’s wife, Ajitha, retired from service last month, working temporarily at the Housing Board, was returning from Thiruvalla when she heard news of Justin suffering an ‘accident’. Even after heading straight to the hospital after reaching Thiruvananthapuram, Ajitha could not meet Justin. It was here that she learned about his gruesome murder, and she fell into silence since then.