Jharkhand IRS Officer and His Family Found Dead in Kerala Home, Probe Underway

Kochi: A senior Customs officer from Jharkhand and his family were found dead at their Kerala house on Friday, senior officials said.

As per a report by the PTI, the deceased have been 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.

A police official revealed that Maneesh and his sister were found hanging, while their mother's body was found on the bed draped in a white cloth with flowers sprinkled on it.

The preliminary investigation suggests that the sibling died by suicide. However, the exact cause of their mother’s death has yet to be identified and will be revealed after the autopsy, a senior officer said.

According to police sources, Maneesh’s sister Shalini had recently received a court summons directing her to appear before a court in Jharkhand on February 15 in connection with a case which pertains to irregularities in her appointment in the Jharkhand government service and was being investigated by the CBI.

Police have found that the Maneesh had purchased flowers on February 14.

The officials 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, the officer said.

Officials stated that the younger sister is expected to arrive in Kochi on Saturday, after which the autopsy will take place.

Investigators are looking into all possibilities. One official said, "If the mother’s death is found to be natural, the siblings’ suicides may have been driven by grief. Our primary focus is to confirm the cause of death through the autopsy."

Maneesh Vijay, an additional commissioner (GST), had been living at the Central Excise Staff Quarters in Kakkanadu.

The officer had been on leave for a few days, and when he did not return to work, his colleagues went to his residence on Thursday night.

Upon detecting a foul smell, they looked through an open window and spotted one body hanging.

Police were immediately alerted, and upon entering the house, they found another body in another room.

(Inputs from PTI)