Coimbatore: Teena, the wife of late Malabar Cements company secretary Saseendran, was found in a drained-out condition at her flat in Kochi by her colleagues, her mother Prema Kumari says. She was running high fever, developed further complications, and passed away on Saturday.
Teena was working as an accounts manager at Geojit Securities in Kochi for the past seven years after the death of Saseendran and their two children. She had not returned for several days after taking leave as she fell ill. Her colleagues then went looking for her at her flat and found her exhausted. Teena was then taken to her Coimbatore home with the help of a relative on Tuesday.
Kumari said Teena saw a doctor at a nearby clinic that afternoon. But as the fever did not subside, she was taken to a private hospital in Pothannur. Later she was shifted to Coimbatore Medical College after she developed kidney failure and infection in the brain.
Teena was critical as she was taken to Kovai Medical Centre on Thursday evening. Initially admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, she was later put on ventilator. However, she passed away at 3.10 pm on Saturday.
“She wasn't just a daughter,” Kumari said. “She was also a friend. She was our strength and courage. She was alone for the past seven years though. She used to come to Pothannur every week to be with us, parents. But she did not come for the past three weeks, saying she had too much work.”
Teena had cleared a company secretary's exam as well as Chartered Accountancy after she started working in Kochi.
Foul play?
Saseendran's relatives alleged that Teena's death is mysterious. Mystery hangs over the deaths of many witnesses in the Malabar Cements cases. Teena never had any serious health issues, and was a crucial witness in cases including one handled by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The High Court chief justice and registrar had received complaints seeking probe over allegations that it is a single gang that smuggled out secret documents from the court, the Vigilance headquarters and Malabar Cements. Saseendran's brother Sanal Kumar said the latest death will also be brought to the court's notice.
Teena's parents, however, do not see any mystery in her death. Neither do they have any suspicion. Her father, Balan, was an official at the Pothannur railway workshop, and lives there for the past 56 years. Her brother Rajesh is a railway official in Coimbatore.
Saseendran's death
Saseendran, 46, and his children Vivek, 10, and Vyas, 8, were found hanging at their house at Kanjikode at 2 am on January 2, 2011. After state police probe, the High Court handed over the case to the CBI.
Malabar Cements contractor V M Radhakrishan was arrested by the CBI on March 19, 2013 and was charged with abetment to suicide. Saseendran had testified against Radhakrishnan in the Malabar Cements cases. The CBI had found that the suicide was caused by stress Saseendran had faced.
The CBI court had returned the charge-sheet twice, and accepted an amended one on September 2, 2014. Brother Sanal approached the High Court in January 2015 seeking fresh probe into the mysterious deaths and also demanding that the CBI should probe Malabar Cements corruption cases.
