‘No foul play in elderly woman’s death’

T'puram: The preliminary postmortem report of 75-year-old Selinamma, a former nursing assistant from Dhanuvachapuram near Parassala, ruled out any indications of foul play in her death. The report confirms that there were no abnormalities, but a conclusion will be made after a detailed chemical analysis of internal organs. Parassala police, who are investigating the case, assured that further examination will clarify any lingering doubts. Selinamma, who lived alone, was found dead on her bed on the evening of Jan 17.
A woman who occasionally assisted her discovered the body and assuming it was a natural death, the family proceeded with her funeral at a nearby church cemetery on Jan 18. However, suspicions arose when Selinamma's relatives noticed that five sovereigns of jewellery were missing from her bag. This led them to file a complaint with police, prompting authorities to exhume the body for postmortem with the district collector's permission. The exhumation and autopsy were conducted on Monday morning and the body was reburied by noon.
Meanwhile, a local panchayat member revealed that there were concerns about her death from the beginning. Those who prepared Selinamma's body for the funeral allegedly noticed injuries and bruises, but her relatives were initially unwilling to conduct a postmortem. Neyyattinkara DSP S Shaji stated that suspicions heightened due to the presence of a nose ring on the body, leading Selinamma's son to formally request a probe.
A neighbour, Bahuleyan, also voiced doubts, stating that he noticed marks on her face and neck on the day of her death. He added that she was seen healthy until the previous day and it was unusual for her to be wearing only a nose ring instead of her usual gold jewellery. While the initial findings suggest natural causes, police assured that they will wait for the final forensic results before ruling out any possibility of foul play.