Kerala court asks CBI to probe Mani’s death

The Kerala High Court yesterday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to begin a probe within a month the death of actor Kalabhavan Mani.The family of Mani had approached the court seeking a CBI probe.Mani, 45, who acted in 200 films in Malayalam and other languages, was admitted to a hospital here on March 4 last year as he was said to be suffering from a liver ailment. He died two days later.The state police have not made much headway in their probe even as forensic experts said an insecticide, chlorpyrifos, was found in the actor’s body.Mani was living 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 it may not have been 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 federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh and repeated the family’s demand for a CBI probe.