Customs officer, kin found dead in staff quarters in Kerala; sister facing CBI probe in Jharkhand

A senior officer with the central excise and customs in Kochi, his sister and mother were found dead in the staff quarters in Kochi, Kerala. A police probe is underway to ascertain the cause of death.

According to Kerala police, the deceased was identified as Maneesh Vijay (43), an IRS officer and additional commissioner with central excise and customs in Kochi, his sister Shalini Vijay, and their mother, Shakuntala Agarwal. The family hailed from Jharkhand and have been living in the staff quarters in Kerala for over a year.

The incident came to light on Thursday night, after Vijay’s colleagues came to check on him after he did not turn up for work for several days. When they visited the quarters, they detected a foul smell. When they looked through an open window, they spotted one body hanging. The officials immediately alerted the police. Upon entering the house, they found another body in another room. Subsequent searches led to the recovery of the mother’s body lying on the bed in another room, police told PTI.

Though police suspect suicide to be the cause of death of the siblings, they are probing all angles. "If the mother's death is found to be natural, the siblings' suicides could be due to grief. Right now, our focus is to confirm the cause of death through the autopsy,” said an officer to PTI.

According to police, Maneesh's sister Shalini recently received a summons from court in Jharkhand on February 15 in connection with a CBI probe. Shalini is allegedly facing charges pertaining to irregularities in her appointment in the Jharkhand government service. Police also found an entry in Maneesh's diary dated February 15, instructing that certain documents be handed over to his younger sister, who is currently in Dubai, police told PTI. Police will conduct the autopsy of the deceased once she arrives from Dubai.