Kothamangalam police have begun a probe into the death of a 38-year-old man, Ansil, who died reportedly after consuming poison. His friend, a woman from Chelad, is in police custody. The police have filed a case under the section which pertains to attempt to murder.

Ansil was found lying unconscious in the woman's house at Chelad in the early morning hours on Wednesday. "We received a call from the woman saying that Ansil was unconscious. His brother was also there. He was taken to the hospital and he died on Thursday," said a police official with Kothamangalam station.

The cops recovered a glass and a bottle of poison from the woman's house at Malipara in Chelad. "There were contradictions in her statement. She is being quizzed. We need to find out if Ansil consumed poison himself or was forced to drink it. We will change the section to murder once we collect sufficient evidence," the official said.

Ansil, who ran a business, had married twice. He was close to the woman who is in custody. The police suspect that their relationship turned sour recently.