Accused arrested by Excise officials dies at hospital; relatives allege mystery

KASARGOD: An accused, who was arrested by the Excise department and was remanded by the court, died on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as Bellur native Karunakaran (43). He died at the Pariyaram Govt Medical College on Tuesday morning.

Doctors at the Pariyaram Medical College said that Karunakaran had sustained injuries to his muscles and internal organs. Karunakaran's brother alleged that Karunakaran was shifted to the Pariyaram Medical College after spending 10 days in critical condition at the Kanhangad District Hospital.

Karunakaran was arrested along with a person named Hameed on July 19 by Badiyadukka Excise Inspector Jijl and the team while they tried to smuggle arrack in an autorickshaw. Kasargod court remanded him for 14 days and sent him to Kanhangad district jail. The remand accused was shifted from the district hospital to Pariyaram Medical College after being told that his hand was swollen and needed surgery. The examination conducted at Pariyaram Medical College revealed that he had kidney and heart problems and that his blood was clotted. Relatives said that they did not know that Karunakaran, who used to work as a carpenter, had kidney and heart problems. Pariyaram police have registered a case of unnatural death. The police said that things would become clear only after examining the post-mortem report.