Though many in K. Aneesh’s village had seen media reports detailing the travails of a 23-year-old youth and his 19-year-old woman friend who fell victim to moral policing on the Azheekkal beach in Kollam on Valentine’s Day, nobody had guessed that it was their neighbour who had suffered humiliation, leading to his suicide.
A pall of gloom has descended on Anagaddha, located close to Karara in Attappady, ever since Aneesh ended his life by hanging from a tree in his residential compound on Thursday.
Aneesh’s mother Latha struggles to contain her emotions while explaining how he had supported the family to make both ends meet. Latha is a wage labourer while the young man’s elder brother Ajeesh works in a local automobile workshop. His father, Gopalakrishnan, has severe health issues which prevent him from taking full time jobs. Their modest house on a few cents of land lacks even minimum facilities.
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Meanwhile, the police confirmed that a suicide note recovered from Aneesh’s body named the two accused who were arrested in the case for pushing him to suicide. The note explained how he was constantly harassed by friends of the accused through social media.
Aneesh had slipped into extreme depression and told family members that he would not go back to Kollam to continue with his job.
“It is a matter of relief that the State Human Rights Commission has registered a case and demanded a report from the Palakkad and Kollam police within three days,” said social worker K.A. Ramu.
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Aneesh was a known performer of Kerala's oldest classical art form Chakyarkoothu. He performed the art form in different parts of the State in the recent years.