Armed Reserve constable shoots himself at Jaya memorial

The Anna Square police have registered a case and are investigating.

Senior police officials at the spot where Arunraj allegedly shot himself in the early hours of Sunday, in Chennai.

A 26-year-old police constable attached to the Armed Reserve battalion, Arunraj, who was on duty at the memorial of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself early on Sunday. His father has demanded a detailed investigation.

According to the police, Arunraj was a native of Perungudi in Madurai and the youngest son of Malairajan and Ponnazhagu. He has four brothers. He joined the Tamil Nadu police as constable in 2013.

On Sunday morning, he was posted at the memorial for guard duty. There were three other constables with him and each one was guarding one corner. “Arunraj was standing on the right side while coming from the M.G.R. memorial and holding a .303 rifle,” said a police officer.

Around 4.55 a.m., the other constables heard a gunshot. They found Arunraj in a pool of blood and discovered that he had shot himself in the neck and the bullet had come out through the head. He was rushed to the Government Royapettah Hospital where he was declared dead. The body was kept in the mortuary for post-mortem.

City Police Commissioner A.K. Viswanathan visited the spot and initiated a detailed investigation. Later in the evening, the body was handed over to the family.

‘Something troubled him’

Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Malairajan said that Arunraj got the job when he was pursuing his degree in commerce from Annamalai University.

Arunraj had spoken to his father on Saturday night around 7.30 p.m. “He asked me to send the bank account details so that he can transfer me money. I have always told my sons to take care of their needs first and then send us money,” said Mr. Malairajan.

In 2015, Arunraj went missing from duty and a case was also registered in the Triplicane police station. “He had gone to Tiruvannamalai to take a break. Some official issues were troubling him. He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and very spiritual,” said Mr. Malairajan.

He also said that his son was not worried about work stress. “He used to tell me that stress is a part of police job and was ready to handle it. I even told him to get a transfer to Madurai or Sivaganga district and he told me that it was in the process,” Mr. Malairajan said demanding a detailed inquiry into the incident. “Something was troubling my son and we need to know that,” he added.

‘Not stressful’

Meanwhile senior police officers said the guard duty was not stressful at all. “A total of 12 armed policemen are posted in the memorial through out the day. Each shift has four of them and their duty lasts for four hours. After this they get rest for eight hours,” said a senior police officer.

The Anna Square police have registered a case and are investigating. “We have not got any suicide note till now. We are checking the call records to gather more details,” the officer said.

Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.