Protest continues over death of remand prisoner in Tiruchi; police deny allegations of custodial torture

Communist Party of India (Marxist) members on Wednesday staged a demonstration at Mutharasanallur near here, demanding a second post-mortem of Dravida Mani (40), a remand prisoner, who died on September 28.

Alleging that Dravida Mani was tortured to death, the protesters led by R. Raja, district secretary, demanda proper inqury over his death. He said that the police had been exerting pressure on the family members of the deceased to receive the body, which is being kept at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospitalsince Saturday. A petition, seeking second post-mortem, had been filed before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court as the family members of Dravida Mani had alleged that he was a victim of custodial death. .

On Monday, CPM members protested outside the District Collectorate, while on Tuesday opposition leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami raised concerns on social media, hinting at a possible custodial death. Nam Tamilar Katchi chief coordinator Seeman also released a statement condemning the police’s actions.

.Meanwhile, in a statement on Wednesday, the Tiruchi district police denied the allegations of custodial torture.

Providing details of the case, the police said that Dravida Mani was arrested on September 26 for illegally transporting liquor and was remanded in Central Prison after the medical test. On September 28, he developed health issues while in the prison and was taken to the MGMGH, where he was declared dead.

The statement emphasised that “all mandated legal procedures are being strictly followed in the investigation of the case involving the death of Dravida Mani, including the inquiry by the Judicial Magistrate, the post-mortem by a team of doctors, and the videography of the post-mortem.” The police further said that the investigation would proceed based on the post-mortem report and the findings of the Judicial Magistrate’s inquiry.

Published - October 02, 2024 09:08 pm IST