NHAI consultant killed, family recalls Satyendra Dubey case
alleging the involvement of his father’s colleagues.
Thomas, a Kerala State Public Works Department engineer who retired in 1998, had joined ICT about 18 months ago. On December 11, at about 11:30 am, his family in Muvattupuzha, in Ernakulam district, Kerala, received a call from a colleague, identified as Ravindran, saying that he had been found unconscious in his apartment.
The family members were told that Thomas was suspected to have suffered a cardiac arrest, and that he had complained of chest pain when he left office the previous day. They were told that Thomas’s driver had called him in the morning as usual, but did not receive any answer. According to phone records, the driver made the first call at 8:41 am, and then at 10:36 am. The phone records showed two more calls from two different numbers. Some office staff then broke into Thomas’s flat, and reportedly found him unconscious. He was taken to hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
But the accident register (4568082) at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital recorded that Thomas was brought in at 12:45 pm by Anil John, the project manager, who reportedly informed the hospital authorities that he was found hanging.
The doctors noted that there was a ligature mark on his neck and his tongue was protruding, indicating a case of strangulation. A case was registered (1610/12) at the B-4 Race Course Police Station, Coimbatore, under Section 174 of CrPC (suicide or suspicious death). Last week, the autopsy report confirmed that Thomas
