Thiruvananthapuram, May 23 (IANS): After a year of frequent demands from the family of actor Kalabhavan Mani and with the intervention of the Kerala High Court, the CBI on Tuesday began a probe into the death of the actor.

The Thiruvananthapuram unit of the CBI has been entrusted with the job of the probe. 

After collecting the entire case documents from the Kerala police, the CBI registered a case of unnatural death of the actor.

Mani's family members had approached the High Court seeking a CBI probe.

Mani, 45, who acted in 200 films in Malayalam and other languages, died two days after being admitted to a hospital in Kochi on March 4 last year. He was reportedly suffering from a liver ailment.

After his death, hospital authorities reported the presence of a chemical in the body, leading to speculation that he may not have died a natural death. Even forensic experts had said an insecticide (chlorpyrifos) was found in the actor's body.

However, the police probe team even after over a year failed to crack the case.

Mani's family members have been running from pillar to post seeking the real cause of death of the actor. The Kerala government last year too sought a CBI probe. But it was not taken up by the CBI.

Mani's brother had met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh when he visited Kochi and repeated the family's demand that only a CBI probe can bring out the truth.