A senior Central Excise and GST officer, was discovered dead, along with his mother and sister at their home in Kakkanad, Kerala, according to police, who are investigating the possibility of suicide as the cause of death.
The bodies of the family, identified as 44-year-old Manish Vijay, his 35-year-old sister Shalini Vijay, and their mother Shakuntala, were found in a decomposed condition, officials stated.
Vijay worked as an Additional Commissioner in the Central Excise and Customs within the Goods and Services Tax (GST) department and resided in a government-provided apartment in Kochi. He and his family were originally from Jharkhand.
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The situation came to light when Manish Vijay’s coworkers, worried that he hadn’t returned to work following a four-day vacation and did not answer their phone calls, visited his residence.
Upon reaching the official’s home, the victim’s coworkers sensed something was wrong and promptly alerted the police, who subsequently arrived to investigate.
As reported by NDTV, Manish and his sister, Shalini, were discovered hanging in different rooms, and their mother, Shakunthala, was found lifeless on the bed.
The police found the elderly woman enveloped in a white cloth, accompanied by flowers beside her, leading to suspicions that she might have died first, either from natural causes or foul play, after which the siblings took their own lives.
The authorities indicated that a forensic analysis is in progress and only the conclusive report will determine if the deaths were due to suicide or a planned homicide.
The police found a diary in a room, which contained a note that allegedly directed their sister, who resides overseas, to be notified of their deaths.
