Trouble is mounting for Sukanth Suresh, the absconding Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer linked to the suicide of his 24-year-old colleague, M. Megha, as Kerala Police slapped rape charges on him Friday, April 4, 2025.

The Pettah police, probing Megha’s death on March 24 along railway tracks between Pettah and Chakka, escalated the case after her family alleged sexual assault and financial exploitation by Suresh, who’s been on the run since her demise. The charges, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, now include rape alongside abetment of suicide, intensifying a manhunt that’s stretched beyond Kerala’s borders.

Megha, posted at Thiruvananthapuram Airport’s emigration wing, was found dead after a train hit her, hours after an eight-minute call with Suresh, her Kochi-based colleague. Her father, Madhusoodanan G., a retired principal from Pathanamthitta, handed over hospital records hinting at a prior abortion and bank statements showing her salary—up to Rs 3.5 lakh—funneled to Suresh’s account, claiming coercion. "She was threatened and drained," he told media, fueling the assault allegations.

Suresh, who filed for anticipatory bail in the Kerala High Court Thursday, remains untraceable despite searches in Kochi and Malappuram.

The case, initially met with family frustration over a sluggish probe, has gained traction under Pettah Circle Inspector’s lead, with two police teams chasing leads. The general public sentiment is one of outrage, with some even calling it a “cover-up unraveling.” For Megha’s kin, justice hinges on nabbing Suresh. With rape now in the charge sheet, his flight from the law just got a lot riskier.