Tirupur: A 55-year-old farmer died of suspected cardiac arrest on Tuesday when police detained him for allegedly conducting an illegal rooster fight near Vellakoil in Tirupur district. The villagers sought action against the Vellakoil police and received his body after initial refusal.
The deceased was identified as M Semmalaiyappan of Lakumanaickenpatti near Vellakoil. On Tuesday morning, he was watching a rooster fight conducted by a group of villagers in Lakumanaickenpatti.
When the police team reached the spot, many people ran away and a few people including Semmalaiyappan were caught, the police said.
"Semmalaiyappan was taken into the police vehicle. The vehicle moved a few metres but the police brought him down and tried to take pictures of him using their mobile phones. When he fell unconscious, they left him on the road," said Palanisamy, a villager.
Onlookers took him in a motorbike to a private hospital where he was declared brought dead. It was found that he already had history of heart ailments, and he could have suffered an heart attack now, said the villagers.
"Despite we told the police that Semmalaiyappan did not involve in the fight, the police detained him which led to his death," said Palanisamy.
A police official told TOI that, "We just tried to detain him but unfortunately he died. We did not register any case regarding the incident."
