In a Kozhikode neighborhood, a 42-year-old textile worker named Deepak U was found dead in his room, and within days a single viral video had turned a private grief into a public dispute about cause, accountability and the speed of judgment. A woman who recorded him on a bus has now been charged with abetment to suicide, though the accusation that started the chain has never been tested in any court. The case sits at the uneasy point where a family's account of loss, the power of social media and the slow machinery of investigation meet, and the answers will come from a report due within a wee
Kerala Woman Booked for Abetment After Viral Bus Harassment Video Allegedly Led to Man's Suicide
A 42-year-old textile firm worker, Deepak U, was found hanging in his room in Kozhikode, and his family is grieving his death.
A man is dead, a video circulated, a family complained.
Mark
Let me start with the basics. What actually happened here?
Mimi
A 42-year-old textile worker, Deepak U, was found hanging in his room on Sunday. Two days before, he'd travelled by bus to Kannur for work, and a fellow passenger allegedly filmed a video accusing him of misbehaving with her.
Mark
And that video is what police are now treating as the cause?
Mimi
Police have registered an abetment-to-suicide case against the woman, Shimjitha Musthafa, under Section 108 of the BNS. That came after his family complained.
Luke
Let me slow that down. Registering a case isn't a finding. What's confirmed about the link between the video and his death?
Mimi
Only that his relatives say the video reached him and he then ended his life. That's their account.
Luke
Right, and the harassment accusation itself hasn't been tested anywhere. We also haven't heard from her.
Mark
Why did the police change the case?
Mimi
They first logged an unnatural death. The family's complaint led to the fresh abetment charge.
Mark
What about the political angle?
Luke
That's BJP leader P S Sreedharan Pillai's claim: that she's a party worker and former elected representative, and that these videos are increasingly made for money. None of that is verified in the reporting, so I'd treat it as allegation.
Mimi
The Human Rights Commission's involvement is firmer ground. It wants a DIG report within a week and takes the case up on February 19.
Mark
So what should we watch?
Luke
The DIG report, and whether the police establish anything about the video's spread and what he saw. Until then, much remains unknown.
El Pulso
- A man's death in Kozhikode has been linked, by his family, to a viral bus video that accused him of harassment and that has never been tested in court.
- Police first logged an unnatural-death case, then reopened the matter under abetment-to-suicide provisions after the family pressed for a stronger charge.
- The woman at the center of the video has been named as accused, yet no response from her has yet been reported.
- The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has ordered a probe, and the North Zone DIG must report within a week.
- The matter heads toward a February 19 Commission sitting in Kozhikode, where the question of what happened on the bus will be pressed.
In a Kozhikode neighborhood, a 42-year-old textile worker named Deepak U was found dead in his room, and within days a single viral video had turned a private grief into a public dispute about cause, accountability and the speed of judgment. A woman who recorded him on a bus has now been charged with abetment to suicide, though the accusation that started the chain has never been tested in any court. The case sits at the uneasy point where a family's account of loss, the power of social media and the slow machinery of investigation meet, and the answers will come from a report due within a week and a Human Rights Commission hearing in February.
On Sunday, Deepak U, a 42-year-old textile firm worker from Puthiyara, was found hanging in his room at Govindhapuram in Kozhikode. Days earlier he had taken a bus to Kannur for work, and according to police and his relatives, a woman on the same bus recorded a video accusing him of misbehaving with her. The video spread widely online, and his family says he learned of it and took his own life afterward. That sequence rests on the family's account; the accusation itself has not been examined in any court.
Police first recorded a case of unnatural death, the usual step in such circumstances. After the family complained, they registered a fresh case on Monday under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, abetment to suicide, against Shimjitha Musthafa, 35, of Vadakara, who is alleged to have posted the video. No response from her has been reported.
The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has ordered a probe and asked the North Zone DIG for a report within a week, and it will take up the case at its February 19 sitting in Kozhikode. Politics has also entered the matter: a BJP leader visited the family, alleged delay in the investigation, and made claims about the woman's political background and motives that the reporting does not support with evidence. What is firmly established is that a man is dead, a video circulated, and a family has pressed for accountability. What happened on the bus remains for the investigation to determine.
On Sunday, Deepak U was found hanging in his room at Govindhapuram in Kozhikode. He was 42, a native of Puthiyara, and he worked at a textile firm. Two days earlier, on Friday, he had taken a transport bus to Kannur for work.
According to police and the man's relatives, a woman travelling on the same bus recorded a video accusing him of misbehaving with her. The video was widely shared on social media. His relatives say it came to his notice, and that he took his own life afterward. That sequence comes from the family's account; the underlying accusation of harassment has not been tested in any court.
On Monday, Kozhikode Medical College police registered a case against Shimjitha Musthafa, 35, of Vadakara, on a charge of abetment to suicide. The woman is the one who allegedly posted the video. Reporting so far does not include any response from her.
The charge was not the first the police filed. They initially recorded a case of unnatural death, the standard step when someone is found dead in such circumstances. The family then lodged a complaint, and police registered a fresh case under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which covers abetment to suicide.
The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has also stepped in. It ordered a police probe and directed the North Zone Deputy Inspector General of Police to submit a report within a week. The Commission will consider the case at its sitting in the district, scheduled for February 19.
Politics has entered the matter as well. BJP leader P S Sreedharan Pillai visited the bereaved family and alleged that there had been a delay in starting a proper investigation. He also alleged that the woman who recorded the video is an active worker of a political party and had served as an elected representative. He further claimed that such incidents, driven by the aim of financial gain through social media posts, are increasing in Kerala. These are his allegations; the reporting offers no evidence for them, and no police statement confirms her political background or any motive.
What is established is limited: a man is dead, a video circulated, a family complained, and a case of abetment has been registered. What happened on the bus, and whether the video's circulation legally amounts to abetment, will be matters for the investigation. The first marker is the DIG's report, due within a week, followed by the Commission's February 19 sitting in Kozhikode.
Citas Notables
Alleged a delay in initiating a proper probe and claimed such incidents for financial gain via social media were rising in Kerala.— BJP leader P S Sreedharan Pillai
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