Kerala HC directs CBI to probe actor Mani’s death

Kochi, April 12 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the CBI to begin a probe, within a month, into the death of actor Kalabhavan Mani.

The family of Mani approached the court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.

Mani, 45, who acted in 200 films in Malayalam and other languages, was admitted in a hospital here on March 4 last year as he said to be suffering from a liver ailment. He died two days later.

A police probe team has, even after more than three months, not been able to make much headway even as forensic experts said an insecticide (chlorpyrifos) was found in the actor's body.

Mani was staying at a 30-acre farmhouse near Chalakkudy, away from his home where his wife and daughter reside.

After his death, hospital authorities reported the presence of a chemical in the body, leading to speculation that he may not have been died a natural death.

Since then, the family has been demanding a probe to ascertain the real cause of the death. The Kerala government last year too sought a CBI probe, but the agency had not taken it up.

Earlier this month, Mani's brother R.L.V. Ramakrishnan met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and repeated the family's demand that the real truth come out only through a CBI probe.