COIMBATORE: The
owner of a
working women’s hostel in Coimbatore, who was an accused in a
sexual harassment case, committed suicide by jumping into a well at Sivalarkulam near Alankulam in Tirunelveli district on Wednesday night.
The deceased has been identified as A Jagannathan, 46, of VIP Nagar at Vilankurichi in Coimbatore. He was running two working women’s hostels here – one at BK Puram and the other on the Thanneerpandal Road.
On July 23, parents of a few college girls staying in the hostel staged a protest in front of the hostel at BK Puram alleging that Jagannathan and warden Punitha had taken the girls to hotel for dinner and asked them to drink liquor. But the girls refused to drink. Later, he allegedly made a WhatsApp video call to the warden and asked her to hand over the mobile phone to the girls. He allegedly told the girls that he would book rooms in the hotel if they agreed to take rest.
The girls returned to the hostel and informed their parents. However, the girls refused to lodge a police complaint.
Later, the Peelamedu police received a complaint and registered a case against Jagannathan and Punitha.
The duo went absconding, and the police formed three special teams to nab them.
Jagannathan committed suicide around 11 pm on Wednesday. According to police sources, he was staying in Courtallam to evade arrest and tried to surrender before the Alankulam judicial magistrate court on Wednesday. But he was not able to do so.
He went to a garden at Sivalarkulam on Wednesday night where he consumed liquor with his friends.
He told them that he had not harassed any girls and that he had been falsely framed by his competitors.
Later, he committed suicide by jumping into a 70-foot-deep well.
On being informed by locals, the Alankulam police rushed to the spot and retrieved the dead body from the well. The police recovered a suicide note from his shirt pocket
The police registered a case and further investigations were on.
Meanwhile, the Coimbatore police were trying to nab Punitha.
(Representative image) 
