CHENNAI: A 36-year-old history-sheeter died in hospital on Thursday, five days after he suffered a seizure at the Mylapore police station. His family has alleged that he died due to police torture. The deceased man is Sugumar of Pallakuma Nagar near Mylapore. He was summoned by the police on October 27 evening while reviewing the list of rowdies and anti-socials.
Sugumar was employed as a casual worker at a nationalised bank in Besant Nagar. “He was asked to stay outside the police station and he sat on the verandah when he suffered a seizure. The police personnel rushed him to the Government Royapettah Hospital, from where he was shifted to a private hospital in Mylapore,” said a senior police officer.
Sugumar died at the hospital on Thursday morning and his body was sent to the Government Royapettah Hospital for a postmortem. Alleging harassment by the police led to his death, his family members staged a protest at the hospital. Police pacified the protesters, after which they accepted the body.
Police said they had called Sugumar to enter a binding order before the deputy commissioner of police, by exercising through their judicial magistrate powers, promising not to indulge in any criminal activities. Sugumar is survived by his wife and two children.