CHENNAI: In a suspected case of custodial death, a 54-year-old woman being interrogated at Kalpakkam Police Station died in a clinic after she complained of chest pain on Monday. The woman was arrested by the Kancheepuram District Police in connection with a theft case.
The victim identified as Mariammal, a native of Rajapalayam in Virudhunagar district, was arrested from her village by a special team on Sunday.
Police said Mariammal worked as a house maid at one Ramesh Kumar’s house on Eight Street in Kalpakkam township. “From January 4, Mariammal did not turn up for work and her phone was switched off. Later, Ramesh’s wife found 15 sovereigns of gold jewellery missing from the cupboard and informed her husband. And after that, a case was registered by the police,” said a police officer.
Since there were no sign of forced entry, the police believed a known person must have decamped with the jewellery and the fact that Mariammal was missing, aroused a suspicion that she stole the jewels.
Ramesh Kumar, who works at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research at Kalpakkam, informed the police that he had hired Mariammal, through a manpower agency a month ago. Police traced the address of Mariammal from the agency and formed a special team to nab the suspect.
“On Sunday, the suspect was brought to Kalpakkam and interrogation was on when she confessed to the crime and said she sold the jewels to a pawn broker at Tambaram,” said a police source. During interrogation, Mariammal complained of chest pain and was rushed to a clinic nearby and was referred to a private hospital in Kelambakkam where she died in the early hours on Monday.