Possibility that director Nayana was murdered grows stronger; Crime Branch to probe case, police ignored evidence and wrote it off as suicide

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Crime Branch has announced an investigation into the death of director Nayana Surya (28) following indications that the death of the young director, which was written off as suicide by the police three years ago, was a murder. Additional DGP MR Ajithkumar said that Nayana's death is suspected to be murder.

Three years ago, the police had concluded the case by stating that Nayana, who was suffering from a rare self-harm condition called 'asphyxiophilia', may have committed suicide, or she might have collapsed in her room and died as she was diabetic. DCRB Assistant Commissioner KJ Dinil sought the possibility of further investigation after Nayana's friends lodged a complaint. The DGP ordered a crime branch investigation after it was found that the police's finding of self-inflicted injuries was not confirmed by the forensic examination and that although the front door of the house where Nayana was staying was closed, there was a possibility of someone escaping through the balcony. It was also found that the contradiction in the statements was not investigated.

The museum police tried to write off the case by stating that Nayana had suffered from a special type of mental disorder that led to her suicide. It did not investigate the possibility of murder despite the post-mortem report stating that the cause of death was a neck injury. The police finished the investigation by assessing it as an unproven case without investigating the injury to the neck and the damage to the internal organs and without collecting crucial evidence and information.

On February 24, 2019, Nayana's friends found her lying unconscious in her rented home in Althara Junction. Nayana Surya, daughter of Kollam Azheekkal native Dineshan and Sheela, was the Associate Director of renowned director Lenin Rajendran. Nayana died a month after Lenin's death.

Evidences that were ignored

1. As the door was locked, the door was opened by taking the key from the house owner. The museum police did not inquire about the whereabouts of Nayana's key.
2. Nayana's friend's statement is that they had broken into Nayana's room to find Nayana lying unconscious. There is another statement that the door of Nayana's room was closed from the inside. The police did not investigate the matter properly.
3. On the night of the 22nd, Nayana had spoken to her mother for half an hour. She did not make phone calls since then. There was no scientific investigation on this either.
4. Although the police assessed that there was no possibility of anyone entering the room from outside, KJ Dinil's investigation found that a person could escape through the balcony.
5. The police confirmed that Nayana committed suicide as her room was locked from the inside. Assistant Commissioner Dinil's report says that there is a strong possibility that Nayana was killed.

Police neglected Nayana's wounds

The postmortem report states that Nayana had bruises in seven places on her neck. It also stated that there were bruises on the left and middle side of the abdomen, the upper part of pancreas and kidney. The cause of death was a neck injury. However. the police did not investigate how this happened.