A case of unnatural death has been registered in connection with the death of popular south Indian actor Kalabhavan Mani.
According to reports, police have learned that there were traces of methyl alcohol in his body.
The actor's body will be handed over to relatives after the postmortem, which will be performed at the Thrissur government medical college hospital on Monday.
The 45-year-old actor breathed his last at a Kochi hospital on Sunday. He is survived by his wife and a daughter.
His admission to a private hospital two days back was kept a secret and it was only on Sunday that even the special branch came to know that he was unwell. He was reported to be suffering from liver and kidney-related ailments and was undergoing treatments on and off.
People from all walks of life are coming in large numbers to the hospital where his body is kept.
Equally gifted in dancing and singing, Kalabhavan Mani could make his audience laugh and cry and did that for almost a quarter of century.
He also had his share of getting into the news for the wrong reason, mostly for his rough and tough behaviour which included alleged assaults of forest officials and customs officials at the Kochi airport.
With assembly elections round the corner, there were reports that the Communist Party of India-Marxist would field him from an assembly constituency from his home district Thrissur.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy condoled the sudden unexpected demise and said that Mani will live through his ballads and the numerous characters he played, while his predecessor and veteran Left leader V.S.Achuthanandan said that Mani excelled playing characters projecting the trials and tribulations of the weaker sections of the society.
"He was always bold enough to say that he was a very strong Left sympathiser and his untimely loss is a huge loss to the film industry," he said.
(With inputs from IANS)
