THENI: A 50-year-old homeopathy doctor died by suicide on Saturday and his family members said that he took the extreme step due to torture by the Joint Director of Health Service who asked for a bribe. The police have registered an abetment of suicide case against the Joint Director of Health Service.
Homeopathy Doctor G Srinivasan (50) was found dead by suicide at his clinic on Saturday. It is alleged that Joint Director (JD) of Health Services Dr. Lakshmanan tortured him by asking for a bribe and threatened him to seal his hospital which is located at Lakshmipuram if he refuses to give the bribe amount.
Srinivasan's wife Shanthi in her complaint said, "My husband is running a private clinic namely Elecro at Lakshmipuram in Periyakulam. For the past year, Lakshmanan, Joint Director (JD) of Health Services allegedly asked Rs 20,000 every month as a bribe by torturing my husband. JD threatened him saying that if he fails to give the bribe amount he would seal the clinic by saying that allopathy treatment is given in the homeopathy clinic."
"Due to this, my husband got an order from the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court that he is running a clinic as per Government rules and regulations. Based on the order my husband sent a legal notice to the Joint Director of Health Services Lakshmanan on October 28. Following this, JD met my husband and threatened him to give the amount, otherwise, he'd seal the clinic and even asked my husband to commit suicide with his family members."
On November 19, Srinivasan told his wife that Lakshmanan on Saturday would seal his clinic and he is going to commit suicide. On hearing this, Shanthi pacified her husband and all the family members slept in the same room. On Saturday morning, Srinivasan was not found on his bed and later he was found dead at his clinic. Following this, she lodged a complaint at Periyakulam Thenkarai police station.
Police recovered his body and sent it to Government Medical College Hospital, Theni for post mortem. Police registered a case against Joint Director of Health Services Dr. Lakshmanan under IPC section 306 (abetment of suicide).
Meanwhile, villagers of Lakshmipuram staged a protest declining to receive the body of the Srinivasan and demanded the police to arrest the JD. A team led by Periyakulam DSP Muthukumar came to the spot and pacified the people and dispersed them.
The complainant Shanthi claims that she has evidence of Joint Director of Health Service seeking bribe, police said.
"We have to get permission from the Department of Health for questioning the JD. Only on Sunday, Srinivasan's body would be cremated. After that, police would commence their inquiry with the family members," police added.
Speaking to TNIE, Dîstrict Collector K V Muralidharan said both the police department and the Additional Director of Health Services have started their investigations on this issue. We cannot say anything at this stage, he added.
Assistance to those having suicidal thoughts is available at Tamil Nadu Health Department Helpline number 104 and Sneha's suicide prevention helpline number 044-24640050.