Last week, when management executive V Saseendran, 46, and his two children were found hanging in their house at Palakkad, Kerala, the initial theory was that he had committed suicide.

Now, the post-mortem report has given rise to a fresh theory: that a whistle-blower has been silenced. The post-mortem has found eight bruises on his body.

Only scientific reports can help establish how he died, but the bruises have already brought the spotlight back on issues that Saseendran had raised while he was company secretary with Malabar Cements Limited (MCL), a public-sector unit.

Last September, Saseendran had written to the Chief Minister, the Industries Minister and the Vigilance Director about rampant corruption in the loss-making company, where he had worked for 12 years. He alleged that the managing director's secretary, P Suryanarayanan, was leaking vital company information outside.

Five days later, however, he wrote to them again, regretting he had raised such allegations.

The following month, he quit.

Family sources now say Saseendran had been forced to withdraw his initial allegations.

In 2007, an audit report had found that the firm had lost Rs 400 crore in corrupt deals since 2001. Vigilance authorities registered 11 cases, with Saseendran as the prime witness in four of these. In fact, his death came a week after Vigilance submitted the chargesheet in a case involving the loss of Rs 16 crore.

Businessman V M Radhakrishnan, who had obtained several contracts for the supply and transportation of raw materials to the factory, is an accused in the four cases where Saseendran was witness. Former Chief Secretary John Mathai and senior officials of the firm too are in the list of accused.

Radhakrishnan is close to leaders in the Indian Union Muslim League and in the official faction of the CPI (M). He had bagged the contracts with the factory when IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty was Industries Minister in the previous Congress-led government. The corruption cases came up during that government's term, but the CPM government too retained Radhakrishnan as contractor for the firm.

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