KANNIYAKUMARI: A 35-year-old shopkeeper, who was arrested on charges of selling banned tobacco products and lodged in district prison at Nagercoil, died on Monday morning. S Sabari Varman was arrested by the South Thamaraikulam police on July 9 for allegedly selling banned tobacco products from his shop in Ethancadu.
Police said 15 packets of tobacco were seized from the shop. He was remanded to judicial custody by a Nagercoil court and lodged in the district prison.
Doctors at the Kanniyakumari Government Medical College Hospital told TNIE that Sabari Varman was brought to the hospital from the prison around 6.05 am on Monday and was declared dead on arrival. His relatives staged a protest near the hospital, alleging that police action had led to his death.
They demanded that the postmortem be conducted by doctors from other government medical colleges. However, a senior police officer rejected the allegations, stating that no injuries were found on Sabari Varman at the time of his arrest or when he was lodged in prison. Sources said the autopsy would be performed by a panel of doctors, including experts from other government medical colleges. State BJP president Nainar Nagenthran has urged CM Vijay to order an impartial inquiry.