Mystery shrouds death of Palakkad yuva morcha leader

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Mystery shrouds the death of 31-year-old Sajinraj alias Lalu, the Yuva Morcha Palakkad district secretary who was found on a roadside in Attingal with severe burns the other day. The Ottapalam native was found in front of a driving school near Mamam bridge around 6 am on Thursday by a security guard of a nearby shop. Sajinraj had suffered 90 per cent burns.

He was rushed to the Medical College Hospital, where he passed away around 3.30 pm. A taxi with a bottle of petrol inside were also found abandoned at the site where he was found. Attingal police said Sajinraj told the hospital staff someone poured petrol on him and set him ablaze.

Police are yet to rule out suicide though. An investigation revealed the taxi belonged to a person from Karamana and Sajinraj had hired it three months ago.  The cops also found an envelope from the car which read ‘Ottapalam native, father Rajan, Lalu 30, Ambili cheated me, Manoorkavu Siva temple three lakh’. 

A visiting card of V R Tours and Travels in Ottapalam was found from Sajinraj’s person. The police said it was the address of his venture.  “His phone was switched off since Wednesday afternoon. We feel he may have driven the car from Ottapalam to Attingal after cutting off all communication with his friends and relatives. We are checking the footage of the CCTV camera,” the cops said. 

Cremation held Palakkad : The body of Palakkad Yuva Morcha district secretary Sajinraj who died of burns in Thiruvananthapuram the other day was brought to his home at Kanniampuram in Ottapalam on Friday. The body was briefly kept for the public to see and was cremated at Ivor madom in Thiruvilwamala. Sajin was the Palakkad district secretary of Yuva Morcha. Several people and elected representatives paid their respects to him.