Kochi: A high-ranking of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) exam, involved in an ongoing legal dispute and a CBI probe concerning the validity of the selection procedure, was found dead with her IRS officer brother and their mother in a government residence in Kochi, Kerala, on Friday, six days after she missed a court appearance in Ranchi.
The matriarch's body was found covered in white cloth, with petals strewn nearby, leading investigators to determine that she died before the siblings supposedly took their lives in various rooms of Manish's official home in Eechamukk, located in Kochi's Kakkanad region.
Investigators are not ruling out the possibility that Shakuntala could have passed away from a natural cause before her son and daughter took their own lives by hanging. "Only after the autopsies will we be aware of the details, such as the time of death," said assistant CP (Thrikkakara) P V Baby.
Manish's colleagues were the first people to find the bodies when they visited the house to search for him, as he was anticipated to return to work the previous day after a break but was not reachable.
Officials found a note in Manish's diary, dated February 15, instructing that specific documents be handed over to his younger sister, who is currently in Dubai. The message contains her phone number. A police officer stated, "She will be arriving soon after the autopsies, which most likely will be done on Saturday," according to reports by Times Of India.
Kochi. GST Addl excise Commissioner Manish Vijay IRS, 43,and his sister and former Deputy collector Shalini committed suicide and mother Shakuntala – all from Jharkhand, found dead in the Central Excise Quarters at Ernakulam on Thursday. More at https://t.co/hJuypUYgCn
— Harringtonpost weekly (@kannamala1950) February 21, 2025
Who Was IRS Shalini Vijay?
Shalini Vijay, assistant director in the Jharkhand social welfare department, was on leave since 2020. She and her brother Manish Vijay, additional commissioner of central excise and customs in Kochi, are suspected to have entered into a suicide pact along with their mother Shakuntala. The Vijay family lived in a rented house in Ranchi until 2013. Shalini's mother used to be a college professor in Bokaro.
Shalini was the topper among 64 civil servants recruited through JPSC's first combined exam in 2003. Some candidates who didn't make the cut challenged the recruitment process soon after, pointing out that many of those who cleared the exam were linked to politicians or officials. As the state probe dragged on, Jharkhand HC had the case transferred to CBI in 2022.
CBI filed charges against Shalini and the other recruits under sections 420 (cheating), 423 (fraudulent documentation) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the IPC, among other offences, along with 13(2) and 13(1)(D) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The next hearing is scheduled for Feb 27.