THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A remand prisoner lodged at Neyyattinkara special sub-jail died on Thursday while being taken to the Medical College Hospital. While the police said Rajagopalan Nair, 43, a native of Pangodu near Venganoor, had been suffering from fever, his family members alleged there were torture marks on the body.
Nair had been in jail since October 15 in connection with a criminal case. Neyyattinkara police said the man had been suffering from fever since Monday. “As his condition worsened, the prison officials on Thursday took him to Neyyattinkara General Hospital. The doctors there referred him to the Medical College Hospital. While they were travelling to the hospital, he died on the way,” Neyyattinkara police said.
Nair was arrested by Kovalam police and was remanded to the jail on October 15.
Meanwhile, the relatives of Nair cried foul over his death. They said the death was fishy as the body bore torture marks. They said Nair did not suffer from any health ailments and the prison officials did not inform them about the medical condition of the inmate when they called them.“They told us to reach the Medical College Hospital at the earliest. After reaching there only, we came to know about his death,” a relative said.