A 46-year-old man, arrested on charges of theft, allegedly committed suicide by immolating himself on the premises of the Kanathur police station, on Monday.
Kanathur police identified the deceased as Humayun, a carpenter and a resident of Jai Nagar, Panayur, who was arrested on Sunday evening following a complaint of theft lodged by a woman resident of Kanathur. “Humayun , who was to be remanded to custody on Sunday, was sitting on the Kanathur station premises as there is no lock-up facility. There was an SSI and a sentry on duty. Around 12.30 a.m., he doused his body a can of kerosene, which had been seized in another case, and ran outside with a matchbox,” a senior officer said.
Humayun set himself ablaze immediately, police said. The two policemen put out the flames and rushed him to a private hospital nearby. He was shifted to Government Kilpauk Medical College hospital, where he succumbed to his burns at around 7.30 a.m.
A first-time offender, he is suspected to have taken the extreme step following humiliation over his arrest, the officer.
Family members, including his wife, Yasmin, claimed that police personnel had brutally assaulted him and set him ablaze. They refused to claim Humayun’s body, wanting a thorough probe into the death. Senior police officials reached the hospital and assured them that necessary action would be taken, following which the body was handed over.
A judicial enquiry has been ordered into the death.
This is how the powerless oppressed people get destroyed in our country. On just a complaint of somebody, who, perhaps out of carelessness, lost 2 sovereigns of gold, this person has been arrested. Nowhere in the world can one see such a thing. It is a well-known fact how Tamilnadu police deal with the common human being. It is an abuse of human rights of the first degree, the policemen responsible for this need to be booked and brought to justice. I too join with the above commentator in strongly objecting to the reporter's "First-time offender". I'm shocked by the audacity of this reporter, who has absolutely no clue of what actually happened and has gone to the extent labelling someone as a convict, even before the law had begun to run its course.
1st time offender means he was already convicted ? Or was he a suspect ?
I strongly object to the insinuation of Hindu reporter "A first-time
offender, he is suspected to have taken the extreme step following
humiliation over his arrest, the officer." The language of the reporter
is biased against the accused. He had no criminal history. The local
news media depend upon police to cover law and order issues. This
reporter seems to be defensive of the police so that he/she can have
future benefits. This is important for a crime beat reporter.
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