Koodathil family deaths: ‘Land offer turned into threats,’ says complainant Anilkumar
R Anilkumar recounts facing severe pressure, threats, and personal losses while pursuing justice for the Koodathil family deaths, following suspicious burial attempts and illicit land grabs that ultimately prompted his initial complaint.
R Anilkumar recounts facing severe pressure, threats, and personal losses while pursuing justice for the Koodathil family deaths, following suspicious burial attempts and illicit land grabs that ultimately prompted his initial complaint.
R Anilkumar recounts facing severe pressure, threats, and personal losses while pursuing justice for the Koodathil family deaths, following suspicious burial attempts and illicit land grabs that ultimately prompted his initial complaint.
As the Crime Branch probe into the Koodathil family deaths in Kalady makes a breakthrough, R Anilkumar, whose complaint set the investigation in motion, recounts the suspicions that drove him to act, the pressure he faced and the personal cost of his pursuit of justice.
What first raised your suspicions about the deaths?
I have known the family since childhood. What raised my suspicions was the attempt to bury Jayamadhavan Nair’s body before his relatives arrived. Less than a year later, outsiders began felling trees on the property and attempting to build on the land. That prompted me to lodge a complaint with the Chief Minister.
Do you think there were attempts to derail the investigation?
Whenever the probe reached a crucial stage, officials came under intense pressure. Despite clear evidence, it took nine years for the first arrest to be made. I repeatedly took up the matter with the Chief Minister and the Home Minister, and even approached the Governor, who sought a report from the DGP.
Were you ever offered anything in return for withdrawing your complaint?
A few days after I filed the complaint in 2018, intermediaries approached me with an offer to have a portion of the land transferred to my name. When I refused, the threats began.
Given the personal losses you suffered, did you ever feel like giving up?
Being a government contractor, I have suffered nothing but losses since filing the complaint. I could not complete the work I had been legally contracted to carry out. My opponents repeatedly lodged complaints against me with the Vigilance Department, while the Income Tax Department once questioned me for an entire day. The corporation also issued a demolition notice for a building in Kalady following a complaint that it had been constructed illegally. I managed to avert demolition by approaching the High Court. Threats to my family members have also become routine.
Do you suspect foul play in any of the other deaths in the Koodathil family?
Jayaprakash’s death was said to have resulted from a fall from his bed, but that, too, needs to be investigated.