CHENNAI: The preliminary postmortem findings of S Rajasekar alias Appu (33), a history-sheeter who died in the custody of the Kodungaiyur police, suggest that he suffered a cardiac arrest. Doctors found four external injuries on his body, which were not the cause of death, said sources close to the doctors who conducted the autopsy on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Additional Commissioner of Police (North) TS Anbu said that the cause of death was not police torture. He said Rajasekar had sustained the injuries before being brought into custody.
As per the report, one of the four injuries was three to five days old, two others were 18-24 hours old, and the last one was 0 to 24 hours old. He said that cardiac arrest as the cause of death will be confirmed only after the full postmortem report is published.
Anbu clarified that Rajasekar was brought into custody on Sunday morning. Rajasekar had developed health ailments during the inquiry later in the day. In the afternoon, he was rushed to a nearby clinic, where he was treated.
In the evening, when he had developed giddiness, he was taken to a private hospital again, from where he was rushed to the Stanley hospital. At the hospital, he was declared dead on arrival. However, Rajasekar's mother, Usha Rani, on Monday, said she had seen several injuries on her son’s body and alleged that the police tortured and killed him.
She refused to take the body home and said autopsy was done without her consent. The preliminary report was submitted to the judicial magistrate who is investigating the case on Wednesday. The deceased's viscera have been sent for forensic analysis. It will also be submitted to the magistrate.