A 42-year-old truck driver from Theni district, R. Balakrishnan, died at the Chekkanoorani police station in Madurai district on Saturday morning, while he was there for inquiry. Three police personnel, including the station inspector, have been suspended, and the investigation has been transferred to the CB-CID.

Balakrishnan, from T. Azhagarnayakkanpatti near Uthamapalayam, worked as a driver for a courier company. On November 3 the vehicle he was driving, carrying parcels and cardamom bags from Thevaram to Madurai, caught fire near Valandur. The goods were damaged. A case of accidental fire was registered at the Valandur police station on his complaint.

The Madurai district police said he had come to the Chekkanoorani station to help the investigating officer examine CCTV footage related to the case. According to police, he went to the restroom around 6 a.m. on Saturday and was found unconscious after allegedly trying to hang himself. He was rushed to Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai, where doctors said he had already died. His body was kept at the hospital for post-mortem examination.

Suspensions and inquiry

Inspector Muthu, head constable Palanivel Rajan and woman constable Kalaichelvi, who were on duty at the time, were suspended. Southern Zone IG Vijayendra Bidari and Madurai Superintendent of Police N. Devanathan inspected the station. A judicial magistrate also inquired at the station, and police said the CCTV footage from the station has been preserved. The CB-CID is looking into whether he died of injuries inflicted by police or took his own life, as the police say.

Family alleges foul play

Relatives and local residents besieged the station, alleging that police had killed Balakrishnan. His wife, Sudha, said her husband had told her by phone that police were pressuring him to accept responsibility for the fire. She said police later called to tell her he had died by suicide. She said he was not a man who would do so, called the death mysterious and demanded justice.

The family has not accepted the police account. An advocate asked how a man of his height could have hanged himself in the restroom and sought the station’s CCTV footage. Manikandan, Madurai district president of the All India Forward Bloc, demanded a transparent inquiry and said the body would not be accepted until the real cause of death is known.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami criticised the police over the incident and the state’s law and order situation.