Overview
- A local farmer, Chellappan Pulikkasheri, was found hanging Tuesday at a Communist Party of India office in Thalayazham near Vaikom, and police said an investigation is underway.
- Police reported a preliminary finding of suicide and recovered a two-page note, with the postmortem completed and the body later cremated as inquiries continue.
- Residents and party workers gathered at the site and initially blocked removal of the body until a revenue officer arrived, leading police to deploy extra units to calm tensions.
- Pulikkasheri had recently posted a video accusing local CPI leaders of wrecking his livelihood and harassing him, and a man claiming to be a former party activist alleged his nursery was vandalised, which remains unverified.
- The death has fed a political flashpoint in the CPI-held Vaikom constituency as Congress leader K. C. Venugopal pressed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for answers, while CPI officials rejected the allegations as baseless.