Kozhikode Medical College Hospital
| Photo Credit: K Ragesh

As contradictory accounts surfaced over the unnatural death of Vishwanathan, the member of a Wayanad tribal family, the police on Monday quizzed some of the security guards at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital to get the details of persons who allegedly harassed the man in the name of a stolen mobile phone.

A senior police officer overseeing the ongoing investigation also recorded the statement of a doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination for more clarity.

Post-mortem report

Though some of the Adivasi welfare organisations refused to accept it as a case of suicide, the police officers who examined the scene of death and recovered the body on Saturday said there were no other mysterious reasons to suspect behind the unnatural death. Quoting the post-mortem report and the observations made by the medical team, they clarified that there were no bodily injuries or signs of mortal manhandling. 

Possible abetment

“What we want to check now is the possible abetment of suicide. The security guards were quizzed with an aim to get their statements about the suspected individuals who were present at the spot,” said a police officer associated with the investigation. He said the investigation team did not have any documentary evidence like CCTV visuals or the statement of the witnesses as of now to establish the same.

After reviewing the progress of the probe, District Police Chief (Kozhikode city) Rajpal Meena also confirmed that the police were yet to get any reliable circumstantial evidence or CCTV footage indicating the alleged mob attack on the 46-year-old man. “Based on the complaint, we are still examining the CCTV visuals from various spots,” he told reporters here on Monday.

Meanwhile, some of the tribal organisations in the State have called for a high-level probe by Central agencies into the incident with a claim that the police were trying to hush up the facts. The organisations including the Kerala Pattikajathi and Pattikavarga Samrakshana Samiti said there should be an intensified probe to track all those allegedly involved in the suspected public trial and assault on the tribal man.

Alleged incident

It was on February 7 that the Wayanad native reached the Medical College Hospital as a bystander for the delivery of his wife. The couple was blessed with a baby boy the following day. The alleged harassment in the name of stealing a mobile phone took place on February 9 while he was staying back in the bystanders’ area. The man was reportedly fleeing from the spot unable to withstand the nagging even after he was not found guilty of the theft.

Vishwanathan’s family approached the police as he did not come back to the Medical College even after several hours of his fleeing from the spot. On February 11, his body was found hanging from a tree near the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.