Woman tourist's death in Wayanad resort: Family demands proper investigation

Wayanad(Kerala): The family of a woman tourist who allegedly died in a hut collapse at a resort in this hill district, on Saturday expressed doubts over the cause of her death and demanded a proper probe into the incident.

Speaking to reporters, the mother of the victim, Nimisha, said that her daughter and several of her friends were sleeping under the hut -- constructed using wooden poles and thatched with grass -- but nothing happened to others.

Her brother said the reason for their suspicion is that there were no visible injuries or blood on Nimisha's body.

"The postmortem report says that there were a lot of internal injuries, including broken bones. Moreover, the incident occurred around 2 am when everyone was sleeping in that big hut," he said.

"Her friends said that four tents were set up inside the hut, and two people were sleeping in each of them. So, how come only our child suffered this fate? If something that big collapses, there would be injuries on the body. But, there was nothing like that," he said.

He said that there was a small trickle of blood from his sister's mouth, but the medical examiner said it was due to the blood entering the lungs and then coming out.

"So, we want to know what actually happened there," he added.

Nishma's mother also asked why such an unsafe hut was given for the stay, and how the resort has permission for such unsafe huts which would collapse in a rain.

"How come only my daughter died, while all her friends who were there were not even injured?" she further asked.

Two persons -- Swachanth and Anurag -- the manager and supervisor of the resort, respectively, were arrested by police on Friday and booked for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The shocking death of the woman tourist had occurred at a resort located near a forested area in Meppadi panchayat in the wee hours of Thursday.