A 31-year-old man, who was picked up for questioning in a theft case, allegedly died in police custody in Sivakasi on Friday. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the death.
Police said S. Ramachandran of Bhagavath Singh Street was brought to Sivakasi East police station on Thursday afternoon for questioning in connection with a case of theft of copper wire belonging to Pallapatti panchayat. On Friday, around 9 a.m., Ramachandran complained of uneasiness and collapsed in the police station. He was taken to Government Hospital in an autorickshaw, but within minutes of arrival he was declared dead by doctors.
Virudhunagar Superintendent of Police M. Rajarajan said only a post-mortem would reveal the cause of death. The suspect was a drug addict and two crime cases were pending against him.
A case of custodial death was registered under the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure. As per the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission on custodial death, an inquest was done by Judicial Magistrate II Santhana Kumar.
The post-mortem was under way at the GH.
Only on Thursday, a former Inspector of Police, Ravichandar, of the same police station was convicted to undergo one year prison term for failure to alter the sections in a case of suicide to abetment of suicide following a dying declaration given by the woman victim.
