Kochi: Three days after the death of transgender activist Anannyah Kumari Alex, her live-in partner was found dead in his flat in Kochi on Friday.
Jiju Girija Raj, 30, a native of Jagathy in Thiruvananthapuram, was found dead at his friends' flat at Thykoodam near Vyttila. He was found hanging around 3 pm when his friends returned after buying food. The body was shifted to the Ernakulam General Hospital after the Maradu police and forensic experts visited the flat.
Jiju's friends said he was suffering from extreme depression after the death of Anannyah. Jiju was a hairstylist. He and Anannyah started living together during the assembly elections earlier this year. Anannyah had contested the polls. Their friends said they had been planning to get married.
Anannyah, the first transwoman radio jockey in Kerala, was found hanging at her flat on Tuesday evening. She took the extreme step as she was undergoing severe mental and physical stress following her sex reassignment surgery, which, she had alleged, did not yield the desired result.
Anannya's funeral was held on Thursday at the St Joseph's Church, Mundakkal, Peruman in Kollam.
The postmortem report has confirmed Anannyah's death as a suicide. The postmortem examination was held at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kalamassery.
The Kalamassery police have registered a case over the death following her friends' allegations against the hospital where her surgery was performed a year ago. The police collected the documents relating to her surgery and handed them over to the doctors who performed the autopsy. State Health Minister Veena George on Wednesday asked Director Health Service (DHS) to also look into the case. The minister has asked the DHS to constitute a health expert committee to probe the reassignment surgery.
Anannyah, a professional makeup artiste, had announced her candidature of a newly formed party from the Vengara constituency in Malappuram district for the April 6 assembly polls. But following differences with the party which surfaced a few days before the polls, she had asked voters not to vote for her.
LGBTQI activists had staged a protest in front of the Renai Medicity hospital, where Anannyah's surgery was done, in Kochi on Wednesday. The hospital has denied all the allegations against its doctors and the management.
