Kasaragod: A young driver was found unconscious under suspicious circumstances inside a tipper lorry parked at Kayarkatta in Kasaragod's Paivalike panchayat, said Manjeshwar police. He was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital.

The deceased has been identified as Mohammed Asif (29), son of Abdullah and Zakina, residents of Bayarpadav in Paivalige.

Around 3.20 am on Wednesday, January 15, the flying squad responded to a call reporting an accident at Kayarkatta. Upon arrival, they found Mohammed Asif unconscious inside the parked lorry. He was rushed to a neighbourhood hospital and then to the District Cooperative Hospital in Kumbla, where he was pronounced dead.

According to the police, Asif had left his home around 2.00 am after receiving a phone call from a relative. When he failed to reach Uppala as expected, his family began searching for him. They later found his lorry parked on the roadside at Kayarkatta, approximately three kilometres from his home.

While initial suspicions point to a possible heart attack, evidence at the scene has raised questions. Bloodstains were found on the truck's interior and near the driver's door. A broken bamboo stick was discovered inside the lorry, and Asif's footwear was found nearby on the roadside.

After the inquest, the body has been sent for autopsy, said Manjeshwar police, who have registered a case of unnatural death.

Mohammed Asif is survived by his mother Zakina and four sisters.