COIMBATORE: A 32-year-old man who attempted to steal a house near a private college at Saravanampatti on Wednesday, was caught and beaten up by a group of college students, who stayed there. He was later found dead near the house.
The body of Michel Liberty, a resident of Nagercoil, bore a few external wounds.
Police were not sure whether he died due to assault by students or due to some other reason.
They are awaiting postmortem report to know the exact cause of his death.
According to sources, Michel, who was in the city to visit his friends, had entered the house where the students were staying, allegedly to steal.
It is said there were theft cases against the deceased at Thoothukudi.
When asked, Superintendent of Police (SP) R V Ramya Bharathi, said, “It has been brought to our knowledge that the deceased was mentally disturbed and at the time of incident he was in an inebriated state.
"So, the cause of death would be known only after post-mortem,” she said adding the students alleged that the deceased was around the college premises to steal things, but the exact reason for his presence could
be established only during investigation.
A case has been registered under Section 174 CrPC (suspicious death). Investigation is on.