Lawyer arrested over DYFI leader's suicide in Kasaragod; police suspect office romance gone wrong

Kasaragod: Kumbla police on Monday arrested a lawyer on the charge of abetment of suicide in connection with the death of DYFI leader and colleague Adv C Ranjitha Kumari.

Police said it appeared to be a case of an office romance gone wrong, though both individuals were married.

The arrested person has been identified as Anil Kumar, a native of Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district. He worked as a PRO at an eye hospital and also assisted Adv Ranjitha at her office in Kumbla, helping her draft legal arguments and documents.

"They were often seen together and travelled together. We did not give it much thought because they were colleagues," said CPM Kumbla Area Committee secretary C A Zubair.

Adv Ranjitha (30), a promising CPM leader and president of DYFI's Kumbla Area Committee, was found dead in her office chamber on Tuesday, September 30. She practised at the Kasaragod Bar.

Her family said she was active till 5 pm that day. "We never thought she would do this. She was always at the forefront, helping and counselling victims of suicide attempts. Recently, she had counselled a young woman who recovered and is now working at a cooperative hospital," Zubair said.

Police said her suicide note mentioned Anil Kumar's name. "When police examined her mobile phone, they found she had made a video call to him just before taking her life," Zubair said.

Ranjitha's family had also lodged a complaint seeking an investigation into Anil Kumar's role. "They suspected him because he neither came to see her body nor attended the cremation," said Zubair.

Police took Anil Kumar into custody from his hometown and booked him under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for abetment of suicide. However, neither the police nor the CPM have revealed his alleged role in the incident. Courts have repeatedly held that married persons cannot accuse their extramarital partners of deception under the pretext of marriage.

Anil Kumar is married to a woman from Kasaragod. Adv Ranjitha Kumari is survived by her husband, a fisherman, and their eight-year-old son.