A 32-year-old man from Tiruppur died after he collapsed at a police station in Nallur on Tuesday.
The police said C. Manikandan from K. Chettipalayam was taken to the Tiruppur rural police station at 7 a.m. for questioning in connection with the death of a woman.
During the interrogation, he collapsed and was rushed to the Government Hospital in Tiruppur, where the doctors declared him dead.
‘Torture in custody’
Minor tension prevailed at the hospital after family members and relatives of Manikandan refused to accept the body, accusing the police of having tortured him in custody.
The police said Manikandan was involved in a prostitution racket, and a woman, who was undergoing treatment for HIV, had lodged a complaint, accusing him of having poured hot water on her.
The complainant had died recently, and the police were also on the lookout for a female friend of Manikandan.
K. Sureshkumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order and Traffic), Tiruppur city, said Manikandan was epileptic and had a seizure at the station. He was immediately taken to the hospital.
“His kin were also present at the station and allegations of custodial torture are baseless. Relatives told us that he was epileptic,” he said.
Inquiry on
Tiruppur Collector K. Vijayakarthikeyan, whom the relatives of Manikandan met at the hospital, told mediapersons that a magisterial inquiry had been initiated into the death.
The Collector said that more details about the incident would be known only after the post-mortem report is received.