Kayamkulam: A 60-year-old man killed himself here after an apparently innocuous issue with the local Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) authorities took a vicious turn.
Unniyezhath Narayanan (Babu) of Eruva locality was found hanging in his house early on Sunday. He committed suicide soon after the CPM took disciplinary action against his neighbour for intervening on his behalf over an issue with the KSEB.
On Wednesday, KSEB officials had disconnected the power supply to his house. Subsequently, R Harikumar, a member of the CPM’s Eruva local committee and Narayanan’s neighbour, called the KSEB office over the matter. However, the conversation between Harikumar and KSEB officials turned into a heated exchange.
After the phone call, KSEB officials disconnected the power supply to Harikumar’s house also citing dues. On learning about this, Harikumar rushed to the KSEB office and questioned the officials over their action.
Meanwhile, visuals of the scene were shot by some people present at the KSEB office and circulated over social media, leading to allegations that a CPM local leader had threatened KSEB officials. In the videos, Narayanan is also seen along with Harikumar.
Moreover, among the KSEB staff was a leader of the CITU, a trade union aligned with the CPM. Consequently, the issue came to the notice of the CPM leadership as a party local committee member had issued threats to a CITU leader in KSEB. Soon, the CPM suspended Harikumar from the party for a year.
“Narayanan was depressed as he felt Harikumar faced suspension only because he had tried to help him. This prompted Narayanan to kill himself,” said Narayanan’s wife Omana in her statement to the police.
Apart from Omana, Narayanan is survived by his children Mithun and Divya.
