Kerala: Social activist Gireesh Babu found dead

He was supposed to undergo a surgery

Kochi: Gireesh Babu, a prominent social and a Right to Information (RTI) activist, who waged legal challenges in several cases of corruption in Kerala, was found dead at his home in Kalamassery district of Kochi on Monday, officer’s familiar with the matter said. The activist, who died at the age of 45, was undergoing a treatment.

Babu was unresponsive when found by his wife on Monday morning at around 6:45 am. The room he was sleeping in was bolted from the inside and had to be pried open by family members and neighbors.

“We have filed a case of unnatural death. After inquest, the body was taken for postmortem at the Kalamassery Medical College hospital. Postmortem has confirmed that he died of cardiac arrest,” a senior police officer, seeking anonymity, said.

A neighbor confess, “He had a swelling in the brain and he was supposed to undergo a surgery. He was undergoing treatment in connection with it.”

The activist had filed public interest litigation (PILs) in court in connection with cases like the corruption over the construction of the Palarivattom flyover in Kochi in which former IUML minister VK Ibrahim Kunju is an accused. He had also petitioned the courts with respect to the alleged siphoning of funds in the name of disaster relief in the state.

Recently, Babu had filed a plea seeking a vigilance inquiry into alleged unexplained transactions between a mining company named Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and Veena T, an entrepreneur and daughter of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. When the Muvattupuzha Vigilance court dismissed his plea, he had approached the high court.