Kochi | The investigation into the alleged suicide of a 23-year-old woman at Kothamangalam, reportedly due to harassment by her lover, has not reached a stage "warranting an NIA probe", Union Minister of State George Kurian said on Wednesday.
Addressing reporters after visiting the victim's residence, the Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying said there is a set procedure for initiating a National Investigation Agency probe.
The FIR currently records the case as an “unnatural death” following harassment by her lover. “If other legal provisions are added during the probe, the matter can be examined later,” he said.
In a petition to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday, the victim's mother, Bindu A K, sought an NIA probe, alleging her daughter was a victim of coercive attempts to convert to another religion.
She claimed the accused, Ramees, had tried to force her daughter, Sona Eldhose, to convert, and suggested his actions could be linked to extremist networks.
State BJP leaders have also demanded an NIA investigation.
Sona Eldhose died by suicide at her residence on August 9. A note left behind indicated she was taking her life due to continued harassment from her lover and his relatives.
The case is currently under investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is examining all angles, including abetment of suicide and rape, police sources said.
