M. Chinnasamy (24), a constable attached to Coimbatore City Police Armed Reserve (AR), shot himself early on Saturday after Sankar alias Jai Sankar (32), accused of a series of rape and murders, escaped from custody.
The police said AR constables Chinnasamy and Rajavelu had taken the accused from Coimbatore Central Prison for producing him before courts in Namakkal, Tiruchi and Dharmapuri on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
They were escorting him back to prison on Friday. While waiting for a bus in the night at Salem Bus stand, the accused insisted that he would travel only by super deluxe bus. As one of the constables went in search of a super deluxe bus bound for Coimbatore, Jai Sankar gave the other the slip.
The accused had obtained order from the court that he should not be handcuffed while in transit.
The constables, instead of immediately alerting higher officials or informing the Salem police, went back to Coimbatore to inform higher officers. They disembarked from the bus on Bharathiar Road near the rear gate of Police Recruits School.
Chinnasamy shot himself in the neck. The bullet exited through the forehead, according to the post-mortem report. Initial inquiries revealed that he feared departmental action.
City Police Commissioner C. Sylendra Babu and other officers visited the scene and examined the weapon. They made enquiries with the other constable.
Chinnasamy hailed from Irumattur village in Harur taluk. He joined the force on March 1, 2008 and was with the Armed Reserve from December 8, 2010. He had earlier served with VII Battalion of the Tamil Nadu Special Police.
A case of death under suspicious/unnatural circumstances and another under Section 224 of the IPC (escaping from lawful custody) have been registered.
