An additional commissioner of central excise and GST, his mother, and sister were found dead at their residence in Kerala, with the police suspecting it a case of death by suicide, officials said on Thursday. The incident came to light when the bureaucrat, Manish Vijay’s colleagues went to his house over concern that he did not return to work after a four-day leave.

As the victim’s colleagues reached the official’s residence, they found a strong stench and immediately alerted the police.

While Manish and his sister, Shalini, were found hanging in separate rooms, their mother, Shakunthala, was found dead on the bed. Police found the old woman draped in a white cloth with flowers had been placed beside her. This has led to the suspicion that the mother would have died or was killed first, and then the siblings died by suicide.

Kochi Police Commissioner Putta Vimaladitya told NDTV that the bodies were a few days old and had started to decay. “Only after a forensic examination, we may be able to say when they died.”

The police have also found a diary in one of the rooms with a note that reportedly said their sibling, a sister living abroad, should be informed of their death.

The family, originally from Jharkhand, lived at the Kakkanad Customs Quarters in Kerala’s Ernakulam district.

Manish previously worked in Customs Preventive at Kozhikode Airport before transferring to Kochi a year and a half ago. His mother and sister moved in with him a few months ago. According to the police, Shalini was dealing with a legal case in Jharkhand – for which Manish had taken a leave from work.

Reports said that Shalini had ranked first in the 2006 Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) exam and was appointed as a deputy collector. However, her rank was later challenged and cancelled, leading to her dismissal. In 2024, a CBI inquiry into the case resulted in a chargesheet and the trial proceedings were underway.

The post-mortem on the bodies will begin after their third sibling arrives from abroad. A case of unnatural death has been registered and further investigation is underway, the police said. The post-mortem of the three bodies will be done once their sister reaches India, they added.