Police constable under suspension dies by suicide in Erode

A 34-year-old grade one police constable attached to the Ammapettai police station in Erode district, who was placed under suspension for allegedly assaulting a lorry driver and demanding money from him in an inebriated state, died by suicide on Monday (October 7, 2024).

A video, purportedly showing a group of lorry drivers questioning P. Selvakumar, who, while on duty at the Chinnapallam police check-post on October 2, reportedly assaulted a driver and demanded ₹2,000 for not registering a case, went viral on social media recently.

Following the incident, Bhavani Deputy Superintendent of Police A. Chandrasekar conducted an inquiry and submitted a report to the Superintendent of Police G. Jawahar, who placed him under suspension.

Selvakumar’s family said he was depressed for four days and died by suicide at his house in Umareddiyur on Monday. Ammapettai police sent his body to the Government Erode Medical College and Hospital at Perundurai.

Family members stage protest

Demanding the arrest of the persons who allegedly “threatened” Selvakumar at the check-post and those who recorded the incident and uploaded the video on social media, his family members and relatives blocked the Ammapettai-Mettur Road from 2 p.m. on Monday.

Vehicle movement was disrupted as the protesters only allowed emergency vehicles and educational institution buses to pass through. Ammapettai Town Panchayat chairman K.N. Venkatasalam, Anthiyur Tahsildar Kaviyarasu and Inspector Jeyamurugan held talks with the protesters.

At 9 p.m., the protest was withdrawn.

The postmortem examination was expected to be performed on Tuesday (October 8, 2024), and his family gathered at the hospital in Perundurai.

Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s Health Helpline 104 and Sneha’s Suicide Prevention Helpline 044-24640050.

Published - October 08, 2024 02:52 pm IST