Man’s body exhumed after kin allege foul play

Kottayam: A body was exhumed from the vault of a church cemetery, and an autopsy conducted after the deceased man's daughter-in-law raised suspicions over the death. The autopsy was conducted in the presence of Chengannur tahsildar, police surgeons and Chengannur SHO on Tuesday.Yesudasan M (74) died on March 20. An autopsy was not conducted before the body was buried at St Mary's and St George Orthodox Church, Puliyoor, near Chengannur in Alappuzha.Yesudasan's daughter-in-law Leena Bince approached police and the revenue divisional officer after sensing something wrong on the part of the home nurse, who looked after the deceased, and also Yesudasan's brother.Yesudasan's daughter is in the UK, while Bince's husband died in 2017 and she lives in Canada with her children. Yesudasan's wife had died in 2024.Speaking to TOI, Bince said Yesudasan was not bedridden and was healthy. She added that her father-in-law was wealthy and had a good bank balance. She alleged that all the properties were transferred to Yesudasan's brother about three months ago. "Even two days before the death, some transactions were done in his bank account," she said. "I realised something was wrong when my father-in-law's brother asked us to leave our house after the death. He told us that the house and all the other properties were transferred in his name. The home nurse told us that all of father-in-law's documents, including property deeds, bank details and ATM cards, had gone missing," Bince said. She said she had transferred a huge amount for her father-in-law's medical and other daily needs till 2023. Bince submitted CCTV visuals to police in which Yesudasan's brother is heard asking the home nurse whether she had given the cake to Yesudasan. The nurse is heard replying that Yesudasan was lying unconscious after consuming the cake. The visuals were from a few months ago.Meanwhile, police are awaiting the autopsy result for further probe.