MADURAI (The Thursday Times) — A 42-year-old lorry driver was found dead in the restroom of a police station in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district on Saturday morning after being kept there overnight for questioning, leading to the suspension of the station’s inspector and an investigation by the state’s Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department.
Police said R. Balakrishnan, from a village near Thevaram in Theni district, took his own life. His wife, Sudha, has accused officers of pressuring him to take the blame for a fire that destroyed a load of cardamom he was carrying, and relatives protested outside the Chekkanoorani police station, where more than 100 police personnel were deployed.
Balakrishnan drove a goods vehicle for a delivery company. In the early hours of November 3, while he was carrying about 60 bags of cardamom and parcels from Thevaram to Madurai, the vehicle caught fire near Valandur, destroying the load. A case of accidental fire was registered on his complaint.
The manager of the firm that sent the cardamom later told police he suspected some bags were missing, and officers asked Balakrishnan to come to the Chekkanoorani station. Police said he was questioned on Friday, that they found contradictions in his account, and that he was asked to stay at the station overnight, in the inspector’s room. A police statement said he was there to “assist the Investigating Officer in verifying the CCTV footage related to the case”.
At about 6am on Saturday he went to the restroom and was later found unconscious, police said. He was taken to Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. A post-mortem examination had yet to be carried out.
Wife disputes police account
Sudha said police first called her husband in for questioning on Thursday, when the family went with him and he was sent home. He was distressed afterwards, she said, because officers were pressuring him to accept responsibility for the fire. When police called him back, the family did not go with him.
“He did not speak to us after going for the inquiry last night. This morning, the police informed us that he had died,” she said.
Madurai District Police said the station’s inspector, Muthu, and two constables had been suspended. Superintendent of Police N. Devanathan visited the station, and police said its CCTV footage had been preserved. Vijendra Bidari, the inspector general of police for the south zone, said the case had been handed to the CB-CID and that a judicial inquiry would also be held.
Deaths in police custody are a recurring flashpoint in Tamil Nadu. In June 2020, the deaths of a father and son, P. Jayaraj and J. Bennix, after they were held at a police station in Sathankulam in Thoothukudi district caused outrage across India and led to the arrest of several policemen. On Saturday, opposition leaders, including former chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, demanded a full inquiry and accused Chief Minister Vijay’s government of failing on law and order.
If you or someone you know is struggling, Tamil Nadu’s health helpline is 104 and India’s Tele-MANAS line is 14416.
