The partly charred body of a man, identified as Shaji, 39, of Aithukondakani near Amaravila, was found in a burning car late last night at Nediyamcode under the Parassala police station limits.
According to S. Chandrakumar, Circle Inspector, Parassala, locals had heard the sound of the car’s windscreen shattering after it caught fire around 11.30 p.m.. By the time they doused the fire and alerted the police, a major portion of the car was gutted. It was then that they saw the body of Shaji, strapped to the driver’s seat with the seatbelt, inside the car, which was parked on the roadside near the chit fund office run by Shaji at the Nediyamcode Junction.
The key of the car, a Maruti Alto identified later as belonging to Shaji himself, was found in the ignition, with the car apparently locked from inside. Initial examinations indicated that the car was doused with kerosene, with smell from remains of the sponge inside the seats of the car indicating as much.
Shaji, police said, was reportedly going through financial distress. The chit fund too was reportedly in trouble and Shaji had a few health problems as well, the police said.Shaji is survived by his wife Amala and son Salmuna.
