CHENNAI: The 39-year-old man from Hyderabad who was caught with 48 kg of amphetamine (an addictive drug) by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Wednesday died allegedly by suicide on Friday night. Rayappa Raju Anthony was detained by the NCB near Karanodai toll plaza at Sholavaram on Wednesday night. The sleuths seized 48.3 kg of unprocessed amphetamine, which, sources said, was worth Rs 100 crore, from his car.
A team led by NCB, Chennai zone investigation officer T Sanakara Subramaniam officially arrested Anthony on Thursday and questioned him at the NCB headquarters at Ayapakkam. Around 9.30pm on Friday, while he was being prepared to be taken to Avadi government hospital for medical examination, Anthony took to his feet and jumped from the third floor of the building. An unconscious Anthony was rushed to a private hospital nearby and then to the Avadi GH, where he succumbed to injuries after three hours of treatment.
Police claimed that Anthony had told his family that he was a software engineer. He was afraid that the family would find out that he was a drug peddler. He had been arrested by the Hyderabad NCB in 2013 allegedly for possessing drugs, which his family was not aware of. The Thirumullaivoyal police registered a case and sent the body to Kilpauk Medical Hospital for postmortem examination. A magistrate enquiry has been ordered into the death. An investigation is under way.
(Assistance for those with suicidal thoughts is available on Tamil Nadu helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)