Prominent Right to Information (RTI) activist in Kerala Girish Babu was found dead in his house at Kochi’s Kalamassery on Monday, September 18. He was 47-years-old. While the police suspect it to be a case of cardiac arrest, further investigation is underway. Girish was the activist who filed several public interest litigations, including the most recent one where he sought action against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T Veena and other prominent politicians for allegedly receiving bribe from a company named Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL).
According to a The Hindu report, on Sunday night, Girish had asked his wife to wake him up at 7 am and had said that he had to go to the Kerala HC for a case. When his wife knocked on his door on Monday morning, there was no response from his side, following which the neighbors broke open the door, to find him dead. Girish had been undergoing treatment for brain-related health issues. TNIE has reported that while the police suspect it to be a cardiac arrest, the official cause of death can be confirmed only after obtaining the postmortem report.
Girish was also the petitioner who filed a PIL in 2017 against the then Poonjar MLA PC George for revealing the name of the actor in the actor assault case, stating that he revealed the survivor’s identity during a TV discussion. He also filed a petition alleging that actor Jayasurya allegedly encroached Chilavannor kayal poramboke land to build a private boat jetty and compound wall surrounding his house at Kadavanthara. Girish filed the PIL alleging that these encroachments are a violation of the Coastal Protection and Management Act and the Municipal Building Rules.