Tamil Nadu: In custody, ‘man hangs himself with underwear’

CHENNAI:A 45-year-old government employee, detained for assaulting his neighbour, died in custody of the Chunambedu police in Kancheepuram early on Wednesday, prompting charges of excessive police force and “bias” by his wife and relatives.
Officers in the police station maintained that Sitrarasu, an a junior assistantin the education department and a resident of Chunambedu, around 115km south of Chennai, hanged himself with his underwear in a washroom during a fourhour blackoutin thelocality.

They said policemen found the body only at 4.30am, after the electricity board restored power supply.

“Policemen on night duty foundthebody suspended from the door bolt of the station washroom,” a police officer said. “Sitrarasu fastened his underwear around his neck and attached it to the bolt.”

Man hanged himself during power cut at station, say police

Sitrarasu appears to have buckled his knees, allowing his weight to snap his neck, he said.

But Sitrarasu’s wife, Vennila, stated in a complaint that policemen in the station had beaten her husband to death and then staged a suicide.

Vennila’s uncle, Prashanth, said Sitrarasu had gone to the station of his own accord to cooperate with the investigation on Tuesday evening after he attacked his neighbour, Jagan.

“The policemen were biased against Sitrarasu,” Prashanth said. “They refused to register case against Jagan,” he added, stating that Jagan had attacked Sitrarasu first. The officer denied the charges, saying surveillance camera footage of the station revealed the sequence of events leading up to Sitrarasu’s death. “The Chunambedu police registered a case under CrPC Section 176 (custodial death) and, following procedure, forwarded it for an inquiry by a magistrate,” he said. “We will take action based on the magistrate’s final report.”

A preliminary probe indicated that Sitrarasu, who worked with the assistant education officer (AEO) in Achirupakkam near Maduranthakam, attacked his neighbour Jagan, the officer said.

“Injured in the scuffle himself, Sitrarasu was treated as outpatient at a government hospital. When we questioned Sitrarasu, he said Jagan held an old grudge against him and was trying to get him sacked from the education department.”

The officer admitted that policemen at the station did not let Sitrarasu go home at night because he appeared to be in a disturbed state of mind, using abusive and threatening language while speaking about his neighbour.

“The electricity board cut power supply to the locality after midnight on Tuesday as a precautionary measure, after gusts of wind threatened to snap electricity cables,” the officer quoted policemen at the station on night duty as saying. “When the lights went out, Sitrarasu went to the washroom and hanged himself.” The policemen informed the Chunambedu inspector Sivakumar and Kancheepuram district superintendent of police Santhosh Hadimani about the death.