KOZHIKODE: The kin of Swaminathan, who died after being taken into police custody in connection with an alleged theft case, have filed a complaint with District Police Chief S Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar demanding a fair investigation into his death. In his complaint, Swaminathan’s father Chellappan said he doubted if his son was assaulted when apprehended by locals and that led to his death. He said a fair investigation was needed to rule out any foul play.
Tirunelveli native Swaminathan was apprehended by local people on Friday night at Kuttikattoor during an alleged robbery at a scrap shop. He was reportedly handed over to police around 7 am on Saturday. According to the police, he was taken around 10 am to the Government Medical College Hospital, where he died at 1 pm. The postmortem on Swaminathan’s body was conducted on Sunday morning.
“We’re yet to receive the post-mortem report. But the doctors who carried out the autopsy informed us there were no external injuries on the body. The exact cause of death can be confirmed only after receiving the reports of the analytic tests done on the internal organs,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Raju P K, who is investigating the case. “The concerns raised by the family members of the deceased will be addressed.”
The cremation of the
body had to be shifted from Mavoor road crematorium to West Hill following a protest by Swaminathan’s relatives on Sunday afternoon. Presently, the police have registered a case of unnatural death under Section 174 CrPC.