The police team probing the mysterious death of a senior Central Excise and Customs official, his mother and sister has intensified its investigation to find out the real cause of their death. The deceased have been identified as Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and Additional Commissioner of Central Excise and Customs Department in Kochi Manish Vijay (43), his sister Shalini Vijay and their mother Shakuntala Agarwal. The family originally hails from Jharkhand.

Manish's sister Shalini had received the summons

Police sources said Manish's sister Shalini had recently received a summons from the court directing her to appear before a court in Jharkhand on February 15 in connection with a case being probed by the CBI. She was an accused in a case related to irregularities in her appointment in Jharkhand government service. The bodies of Manish and Shalini were found hanging, while Shakuntala was found dead on her bed. Shakuntala's body was wrapped in a white cloth and flowers were placed on it. 

According to the police, preliminary investigation suggests that the siblings committed suicide. However, a senior official said that the exact cause of their mother's death will be known only after the post-mortem. Police have found that Manish had bought flowers on February 14. The police also found an entry in Manish's diary dated February 15, instructing that some documents be handed over to his younger sister who is currently in Dubai, the official said. His younger sister is expected to reach Kochi on Saturday, after which the post-mortem of the body will be conducted, police said. Though investigators are probing all angles, they have not yet been able to establish any direct link between the deaths and the case.