Kannadasan Veerasamy’s death a month ago has left his wife with more than a few burning questions.

The 34-year-old workshop supervisor died in a fire at his workplace in Puchong on Nov 19, and in an emotional interview with FMT, Revathi Elangovan said she was frustrated that the police were investigating Kannadasan’s death as a suicide.

“My husband was a happy person who had no family problems or financial problems. I’m sure this is not suicide or an accident. I’m 100% sure,” she said.

“The fire and rescue department’s report stated that there was petrol near the body. How could that be when my husband’s co-workers said no petrol is stored in that room?”

Revathi, 33, said she was alerted to the fire by one of Kannadasan’s colleagues and rushed to the scene. By then, the fire had been put out and Kannadasan was found dead in the storeroom.

She said the firemen there told her that none of the workshop’s three employees who were outside the workshop had informed them that Kannadasan was still inside.

“They said they were only informed that someone was still inside the workshop after the fire was put out,” she said. “But somehow, the others managed to escape”.

Kannadasan’s body had been burnt so badly that it could not be determined whether he had suffered any abuse prior to his death.

Revathi said there was also conflicting information from his colleagues as to what happened prior to the fire.

Revathi’s sister, Santiah, said a co-worker told her he heard Kannadasan in conversation with a man inside the storeroom, after which she said the co-worker heard a blast in the room. The co-worker also saw the other man rushing out.

Santiah said the man’s statement to the police differed from what the co-worker had told her.

Just as perplexing is the missing ATM cards and cash from Kannadasan’s sling bag, in which he had the workshop’s takings of the previous two days.

Neither Revathi nor Santiah have also been able to find an explanation as to why Kannadasan’s car was parked a distance from the workshop with its engine running and all the windows down.

He would usually park his car in front of the workshop and in sight of the CCTV.

Above all, what troubles Revathi the most is what appears to be a hastily scribbled suicide note addressed to her and other members of her family which was found in Kannadasan’s sling bag.

“The spellings were wrong, the names were wrong … My name was spelt Ravati. I’ve known my husband for 11 years; surely he would know how to spell my name!” she said.

“Maybe someone wrote that letter, we don’t know.”

Lawyer calls for fair investigation

The family’s lawyer, meanwhile, said he was worried that the police might close the investigation into the fire by saying it was an accident or suicide since certain quarters were now claiming that Kannadasan had owed them money.

“It creates a motive. We’re not saying for sure he has been murdered, but the police should investigate that angle as well,” said S Vinesh.

“Even if he did borrow money, I still do not see why he would kill himself by setting himself on fire,” he said.

Saying that police had told Kannadasan’s family that there were inconsistencies in the testimonies given by the co-workers, Vinesh asked why the police were only calling in the witnesses involved in the case – and confiscating their handphones – a month after the case.

He said this would have given them enough time to delete any incriminating evidence.

Stressing that the family wanted a fair investigation, Vinesh hoped the police would cover all angles in their investigations.

“A life has been lost here,” he said. “A lot of things don’t make sense. There are many unanswered questions.”

The police declined to comment as the case is still under investigation.