Family of Kerala farmer who died in custody refuses to hold his funeral, demands officials' arrest

Even a week after the mysterious death of a farmer at Pathanamthitta district in Kerala, his family is unwilling to conduct his funeral demanding the arrest of all the forest officials accused.

P P Mathai of Kudappanna near Chittar, about 30 kilometres from Pathanamthitta town, was found dead in a well on July 28 night, hours after he was taken into custody by a team of forest officials on charges of damaging surveillance cameras in the forest.

While the forest officials claimed that Mathai jumped into the well after escaping from custody, the family alleged that it was a murder.

Mathai's wife Sheeba said that the funeral would not be performed until all the accused were arrested and brought before the law. Mathai, who was running a farm, was the sole breadwinner of the family comprising his wife, two daughters, aged mother and two sisters. Sheeba said that if the family did not receive justice, they would have no option other than ending their lives.

The post-mortem report suggested that Mathai died due to drowning and there were no other unnatural injuries on the body. Two forest officials were placed under suspension. While the police are probing into the mystery behind the death, the forest department is also probing into the alleged procedural lapses in taking Mathai into custody and the subsequent manipulations made in forest records.

Pathanamthitta district police chief K G Simon said that the investigating officers had informed the family that a proper investigation was progressing and all accused would be brought before the law. Now it is for the family to make a decision on conducting the funeral. The body is kept in the mortuary of a private hospital.

AICC general secretary and former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy called on Mathai's family the other day. He later sent a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking urgent intervention into the matter. He alleged that the forest officials did not follow norms for taking a person into custody. No efforts were made by the government to console the family, Chandy said.