Madurai
The Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) on Monday directed the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Alangulam sub-division to probe the death of a man who killed himself after he was allegedly tortured by police in illegal custody.
Justice R. Pongiappan directed the DSP to probe the death of Arulkumar from Kurumbalaperi in Tenkasi district who allegedly committed suicide on May 23.
In her petition, Arulkumar's wife Jamuna Bai said he was picked up by the police on May 21 for an inquiry. The police had seized his vehicle and detained him till 10 pm. The next morning, Arulkumar went to the police station to get his vehicle back and subsequently there was no communication from him. Ms Bai said she went to the police station in the evening and found her husband with no clothes on and injuries all over his body.
She said her husband was let off subsequently, but he was in a disturbed state of mind. Though she tried to pacify him, he was still in a state of shock and feared that he would be picked up by the police again.
On May 23, her husband ended his life due to the mental agony. She sought a direction to transfer the investigation to the DSP so that a fair investigation is carried out.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)
