The body of missing CPI-M central committee member W R Varadarajan (64) was found in a highly decomposed state in the Porur Lake on the outskirts of Chennai on Sunday. The police suspect he may have committed suicide.
The veteran trade unionist was missing since February 11 after the party stripped him off all posts when his wife complained that he was having an extra-marital affair. Though his wife identified the body, his foster son could not.
“Since some of his family members couldn’t identify the body, we have decided to conduct a DNA test. Most probably, it would be done on Monday,” Chennai Police Commissioner T Rajendran said on the phone.
Varadarajan was suspended from the central committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, at its last meeting in Kolkata from February 4-6. The action came after his wife complained of his moral turpitude.
Though the party had warned him to sever ties with his mistress several times, he reportedly continued his affair.
His wife Saraswati Varadarajan, a Reserve Bank of India employee, complained to the Chennai Police on February 11 that her husband was missing since his return from Kolkata.
{{/usCountry}}His wife Saraswati Varadarajan, a Reserve Bank of India employee, complained to the Chennai Police on February 11 that her husband was missing since his return from Kolkata.
{{/usCountry}}Varadarajan rose from the ranks to become national secretary of the CPI-M-affiliated Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and from there to the party’s central committee.
A fiery orator, he was once tipped to succeed M K Pandhe as CITU general secretary. CITU is one of the country’s biggest trade unions.