TENKASI: “More than clearing the mysteries surrounding my son’s death, I want the government to find out before I die who actually killed Swathi,” Ramkumar’s father R Paramasivan told TNIE here on Friday.
Swathi, an IT employee, was hacked to death in broad daylight at the Nungambakkam railway station in Chennai on June 24, 2016. Police arrested Ramkumar on murder charge, and the suspect allegedly bit a live wire and died by suicide inside Puzhal Prison later.
“People are now saying Ramkumar did not die of electric shock in the light of some information that came out of a State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) hearing. But I knew this right from the moment I saw my son’s body at Government Royapettah Hospital. It was not a suicide at all. There were 12 injury marks on his body; all seemingly afflicted with a hot iron rod,” Paramasivan added.
From examination of Ramkumar’s body tissues, no evidence was found to support the police claim of death by ‘electric shock’. Histopathology experts had deposed before the SHRC on August 18, according to documents shared by P Ramaraj, the advocate appearing on Ramkumar’s behalf. SHRC officials, however, neither confirmed nor denied the developments.
Stating that his son was innocent, Paramasivan alleged Ramkumar was arrested based on instructions from a senior police officer. “Of course, I want the judiciary to declare my son innocent, and to give directions to probe his death. But, more than that I want the government to trace Swathi’s actual murderer. The police took one year to hand over his postmortem report. Time is running out fast. The government should immediately order a reinvestigation into Swathi’s murder,” Paramasivan added.