Varadarajan died of drowning: Police

WR Varadarajan, who allegedly committed suicide, died of drowning and no toxic substances were found in his body, police said today, virtually ruling out any foul play in the CPI(M) leader's death.
    
Citing the post-mortem report, police said he had died of drowning and tests on his viscera did not find any toxic substance.
    
"The government doctor who had performed the post-mortem has certified that Varadarajan died of drowning. This has been established in the investigation conducted so far," police said in a release.
    
Police said as part of investigation, water samples from the lake from where Varadarajan's body was fished out were also tested while his fingerprints were taken from the US Consulate here, where he had applied for a visa.
    
Varadarajan, who was CPI(M)'s central committee member, was stripped of party posts following sexual harassment charges.
    
He allegedly committed suicide after leaving home on February 11, leaving behind two unsigned notes.
    
His death had created some controversy, prompting CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat to justify the party's action against him, saying he was not "hounded to death".
    
Last week, clashes broke out between CPI(M) and PMK after the news channel, Makkal TV, promoted by the latter, aired a report claiming a possible murder angle to Varadarajan's death.
    
Workers of CPI(M) and PMK attacked Makkal TV office and CPI(M) headquarters respectively.