A 45-year-old heart patient, suspected to be involved in gambling, died when the police chased him at U Keeranur near Ulundurpet in the early hours of Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Venkatesan, son of Sokkalingam, a native of Kuthirai Santhal near Chinna salem.
Venkatesan, who had two wives and four children, moved to Ulundurpet 20 years ago. He often used to play cards with his friends. The police said an illegal gambling racket was operating in Ulundurpet, involving amounts running into lakhs. They added that many families had been ruined due to the men getting addicted to gambling. According to police sources, Singaram and Thandavarayan were the kingpins of the racket.
Acting on a tip-off that the two kingpins would take part in the gambling on Tuesday, Villupuram ADSP Rajan, along with two special teams, raided the U Keeranur lake beds at around 3 am. They found a 17-member gang gambling there.
The police teams cordoned the area on all four sides. The gang members tried to flee but the police teams were alert and managed to nab all of them. Venkatesan, who had a heart problem, died on the spot. The Ulundurpet police sent his body to the Ulundurpet Government Hospital for autopsy.
“We have confiscated `9.78 lakh in cash, 18 mobile phones and two motorcycles from the spot. Further investigation is on,” one of the police officials told Express.
One of Venkatesan’s wives, Sumathi, refuted the police version and alleged that her husband had been brutally killed in a police lathi charge. She alleged that Venkatesan sustained head injuries in the lathi charge and bled profusely when he was being taken to the hospital. Sumathi alleged that the police were trying to conceal facts.
Demanding a departmental inquiry into the circumstances leading to their husband’s death, his relatives picketed the govt hospital.