Anandu’s Dying Declaration Prompts Fresh IPC 377 Case; RSS Leader on the Run

Kottayam/Thiruvananthapuram: The RSS leadership in Kerala is under mounting pressure following the death of 26-year-old software engineer Anandu Aji, who took his own life after alleging sexual abuse at RSS camps. The Thampanoor police have received a legal opinion recommending that a fresh case be registered against Nidheesh Muraleedharan, an RSS worker accused by Anandu of sexually abusing him when he was just four years old.
Police had sought legal advice from Assistant Public Prosecutor Manu Kallampally regarding the case. The opinion stated that, since the victim named Nidheesh as his abuser in his final statement, there is sufficient legal ground to register a case under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with non-consensual unnatural sexual acts against minors. Although the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)—which has replaced the IPC—does not include provisions for such offences, the alleged act occurred when the IPC was still in force. Therefore, the case can be pursued under the older penal code.
As the alleged offence took place within the Ponkunnam police station limits, the Thampanoor police will prepare a detailed report and transfer the case to the Kottayam district police for further investigation. The legal advice also confirmed that the video posted by Anandu before his death can be treated as a dying declaration, making it a key piece of evidence in the case.
Nidheesh Muraleedharan, who runs a business near Kanjirappally, is an active RSS worker and a local organiser of Balagokulam activities. He is currently absconding, and police have intensified efforts to trace him. Sources said RSS leaders are allegedly trying to shield him from police action.
Anandu, a native of Vanchimala in Kottayam, was found dead in a lodge at Thampanoor, Thiruvananthapuram, last Thursday, shortly after a scheduled Instagram post appeared on his account describing the years of sexual abuse he faced at RSS camps. His suicide note also detailed repeated assaults allegedly carried out by multiple RSS members, including a man identified as “NM,” a local RSS–BJP functionary.
RSS leaders had dismissed the posts as fake, claiming that someone else had misused Anandu’s account to tarnish the organisation’s image. However, the release of a pre-scheduled video message on Instagram days later directly contradicted those claims. In the video, Anandu reiterated his allegations of sexual abuse and named Nidheesh Muraleedharan as the first perpetrator.
The emergence of this dying declaration video has dismantled earlier RSS denials and triggered widespread public outrage across Kerala. The incident has also reignited debate over the functioning and secrecy of RSS training camps, with growing calls for an impartial, transparent investigation into the allegations.