"My Abuser Was Nitheesh Muraleedharan, Everyone’s Kannan Chettan,’ Ananthu Aji Reveals in His Suicide Note

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: The suicide of 26-year-old IT professional Ananthu Aji has sent shockwaves across Kerala after a posthumous scheduled video and earlier social media notes revealed years of sexual abuse, severe mental health struggles, and alleged misconduct in RSS training camps.

Prior to the video, Aji had shared a series of Instagram notes detailing the abuse he endured, the trauma’s impact on his mental health, and warnings about RSS camps, but he had not named his abuser. In the scheduled video, he explicitly identified his childhood abuser as Nitheesh Muraleedharan, an active RSS worker also known as “Kannan chettan,” alleging continuous sexual abuse from the age of three by a neighbour living near his home.

He revealed that he only fully realised the abuse last year, which had triggered severe Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and depression. Aji had been undergoing therapy for six months and taking multiple medications daily, describing his life as “completely ruined.” He credited only his mother and sister for helping him survive, calling them his sole source of strength.

In both the earlier notes and the video, Aji alleged sexual abuse in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) camps he attended, including ITC and OTC programmes. He warned viewers to “never interact with RSS people,” describing the camps as “a centre for abuse and torture” and claiming that children were being sexually exploited. While he acknowledged having no proof, he emphasised that survivors are often forced to carry their trauma alone.

In his emotional disclosures, Aji recounted a lifetime of abuse not only by Nitheesh Muraleedharan but also by other men in different places, whom he described as active RSS workers. He concluded the video expressing profound despair: “I don’t want to live, I am fed up.” In his earlier notes, he also described the trauma he endured starting at age four in RSS camps and wrote that the abuse had caused long-term psychological distress. He warned readers that there was “no organisation in the world” he hated more, describing RSS members as “venomous people.”

Authorities confirmed Aji’s death and stated that a thorough investigation has been launched into both the suicide and the allegations, including those relating to RSS camps.

The revelations have sparked widespread public debate on child protection, accountability in RSS organisations and their camps, and mental health support for survivors of sexual abuse.

Ananthu, a native of Vanchimala in Kottayam, was found dead in a lodge at Thampanoor, Thiruvananthapuram, last Thursday, shortly after the scheduled video was posted on his Instagram account.