Only if a person dies in police custody, it is called ‘lock-up’ death, Minister Kadambur Raju said said on Sunday.
He was here to console the family members of Ganesamurthy, a worker, who committed suicide died two days ago after he was interrogated by police at Ettayapuram.
Ganesamurthy was riding his bike in an inebriated state last week, when he was intercepted by police, who advised him to go home on foot. They asked him to collect the bike from the police station the next day. However, apprehending trouble, he ended his life before collecting the vehicle.
Demanding compensation, the family members squatted on the road.
Compensation
After the issue was taken up with the government, local political functionaries offered ₹4 lakh as compensation. The family then received the body after post-mortem.
In 1996, the Minister told reporters, when the DMK was in power, two persons died in a police station in the district. In the case of Ganesamurthy, the victim never stepped inside one. Instead, he was advised by police to go home by foot in his own interest. Thus, it would be incorrect to describe the incident as custodial death.
On the Sattankulam incident, Mr. Raju said the State government, in the interest of the family, suspended the police personnel. The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court had taken suo motu cognizance of the case. The government and all officers would abide by the court’s direction and there was nothing to hide.
The Minister took a dig at DMK MP Kanimozhi for giving a wrong picture that the trader and his son died in police custody. The two were produced before a Magistrate and sent to judicial custody.
“It is there in record, we have nothing to hide,” he said.
