The holy water had come via parcel in the name of a Kerala temple

Madikeri: A cook, working at a hotel in Somwarpet, died after drinking the ‘holy water’ which he had received as a parcel sent in the name of a temple in Kerala.

The deceased is T.J. Suresh (38), a resident of Thanniruhalla and his relatives, suspecting foul play, have alleged that it is a pre-planned murder.

Details: The family deity of deceased Suresh was in Uppala in Kerala and generally, prasadam was being sent to the community members from the temple through parcel.

On Aug.3 at about 6 pm, a parcel arrived in the name of Suresh, and the courier delivery person delivered the parcel to the hotel where Suresh was working. As Suresh had gone to his house on that day, the hotel owner gave the parcel to Suresh the next day at about 6 am.

Suresh, who went to his house at about 2.45 pm on Sunday, performed puja rituals at his house in the evening and opened the small bottle containing ‘holy water’ and drank it. Suresh immediately began to vomit blood and the shocked family members rushed him to Somwarpet Government Hospital, where the doctors confirmed that he was dead.

Relatives claim that the temple sends only turmeric as prasadam in parcel: Meanwhile, Suresh’s relatives have claimed that the temple sends only turmeric (Arishina) as prasadam in parcel. 

But the parcel that had come to Suresh on Aug.3 contained Turmeric, Kumkum, one Marigold flower and a small bottle containing liquid. Along with the above, a letter with instructions stating that the ‘holy water’ should be consumed only by the head of the family, the family members have alleged and claimed that the parcel was not the one sent by the temple.

They (relatives) said that only a person who knew about the parcel being sent by the temple regularly to Suresh’s house had planned to murder Suresh.

As the family members of Suresh suspected foul play and alleged that it was a pre-planned murder, Somwarpet Police shifted the body to Madikeri General Hospital for post-mortem and quizzed the hotel owner, relatives and friends of the deceased and recorded their statements. The body was handed over to the Suresh’s family members after post-mortem was conducted. Somwarpet Police, who have registered a case, are investigating.