Wife of 40-year-old who died in alleged police attack attempts suicide

Vivekananthakumar’s brother Sabari told Express that the entire family had been plagued by misfortune for the past two years.

MADURAI: Widow of the 40-year-old man, who died after falling off a bike when policemen allegedly attacked him for not stopping for document verification, attempted suicide at her house on Tuesday. She was rescued by her family and admitted to the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) here.

Gajalakshmi (25), widow of T Vivekananthakumar (40) from S Alangulam here, tried to hang herself to death in the toilet of her house. On Saturday night, Vivekananthakumar was riding a bike with A Saravanakumar (28), a resident of Suduthani Kalvi Road, as pillion when policemen attacked them with a lathi to stop their vehicle. Vivekananthakumar reportedly lost control over the bike, fell down and sustained grievous injuries. He was taken to the Government Rajaji Hospital, where he died on Sunday.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning, Gajalakshmi gave her only son Sai Sri to a relative and went to the toilet. When there was a delay in her return, the anxious family members knocked on the door, but got no response. Sensing something amiss, they broke open the door, only to find Gajalakshmi hanging from the ceiling. She was immediately brought down and taken to the GRH.

Vivekananthakumar’s brother Sabari told Express that the entire family had been plagued by misfortune for the past two years. “My mother died a few days after my brother’s marriage in 2017. My father died a month ago; then my brother meets with a fatal accident and now my sister-in-law attempts suicide. Gajalakshmi is a bold woman. She braved hard formative years to come up in life,” he said. Vivekananthakumar’s family has been protesting for Rs 25 lakh compensation and a government job for Gajalakshmi at the collectorate. They also wanted delta team personnel — SSI Rathinavel, HC Krishnamoorthy, HC Ramesh Prabu, HC Kanthaswamy, HC Prabu Sivan and PC Manikandan — to be brought to book.

Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on Tamil Nadu’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.

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