The police on Thursday exhumed the body of a 69-year-old man, whose family claimed that he had attained 'samadhi, near Neyyattinkara in the capital district. Under tight security, the Neyyattinkara police unearthed the grave and recovered the body, reportedly identified as that of Gopan Swami.
After completing the inquest proceedings, it was shifted to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Earlier, the police made extensive security measures, deploying a large contingent of personnel in the area along with a medical team led by a forensic surgeon. During the exhumation, the body was discovered in a sitting position. Several pooja items, including 'vibhuti' (sacred ash), were reportedly found inside the grave, according to police sources.
“We held talks with the family members and shifted the body for a post-mortem examination,” Thiruvananthapuram sub-collector Alfred O V said. Speaking to the media, he said that the police will conduct further investigations and the body will be handed over to the family after conducting the post-mortem.
Following the protests from family members and a section of local residents, the police temporarily halted the exhumation proceedings on Monday. Subsequently, the family approached the Kerala High Court seeking an order to prevent the police from attempting to demolish the site of the 'samadhi'. However, the court declined to interfere with the investigation.
The court stated that probe agencies have the authority to investigate cases involving individuals who go missing or die under suspicious circumstances. The court observed that there appeared to be something suspicious in this matter and, therefore, the investigation could not be stopped.
The court questioned the petitioner about her apprehensions regarding the investigation and inquired how her husband had died.
According to the police sources, the post-mortem examination of the body will be held on Thursday itself.
The Neyyattinkara police had received an order from the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) to exhume the body, which was buried under suspicious circumstances, for a post-mortem examination.
The incident came to light after posters near the man's residence proclaimed, “Gopan Swami has attained samadhi.”
The police registered a missing case and decided to exhume the body following complaints from residents alleging foul play in his death. Gopan Swami's son, Rajasenan, claimed that his father walked to the burial site around 11.30 pm on last Friday and entered samadhi.
He told the media that Gopan Swami had instructed the family to keep his body away from public view and bury it in the grave. The special burial site was built by Gopan Swami, a priest who had established a temple on his property at Kavuvilakam in Neyyattinkara.
