CHENNAI: A 26-year-old man who was picked up by the Chennai police for inquiry in a mobile phone theft case on Tuesday morning died later that day at Stanley Government Hospital. A magistrate inquiry has been ordered after his brother alleged that he died of police harassment.
The deceased, K Dinesh Kumar, of Perambur has several cases pending against him in different police stations, sources said. He was staying with his wife Kowsalya, four-year-old daughter, and mother Latha. His brother K Senthil Kumar, 27, lives nearby, police said.
Dinesh Kumar worked as a kitchen chimney cleaner and daily-wage labourer. On Tuesday morning, he had left home around 6am for work. “By 10.30am, Kowsalya received a call and the caller introduced himself as a policeman from Thoraipakkam station,” sources said.
No signs of external injuries when victim presented to hospital, say sources
“The caller asked her to return a stolen mobile phone. Dinesh Kumar who spoke after that asked Kowsalya to meet a friend in Moolakothalam near Basin Bridge and get the phone," said a police source.
Around 1pm, Latha and Kowsalya handed over the phone to the police personnel who were in civil clothes at an outpost near Kannagi Nagar toll plaza. Two hours later, Dinesh Kumar who returned home said he was feeling tired and was rushed to a nearby hospital. At 9.30pm, he fell unconscious in the bathroom in his house.
Senthil Kumar rushed Dinesh Kumar to Stanley Government Hospital at 10.40pm where the doctors examined him and declared him dead on arrival. The information was passed on to the police outpost on the hospital premises and the body was taken to the hospital mortuary. After a case was filed by Thiru Vi Ka Nagar police station, an autopsy was conducted on Wednesday morning.
The report is awaited. Hospital sources said there were no external injuries on Dinesh Kumar when he was brought to the hospital. Based on a complaint from Senthil Kumar about alleged police harassment leading to the death of his brother, a case was registered at Thiru Vi Ka Nagar police station and a magistrate inquiry was ordered.
Speaking to TNIE, a senior police officer said, Dinesh Kumar and his friend Ramachandran were travelling on a MTC bus on Tuesday morning when the latter stole a mobile phone. The phone belongs to J Stephen Claudio, 20, who noticed it only after getting down from the bus. "His friend had come to pick him up in a two-wheeler. They both chased the bus and halted it near Seevaram signal on Old Mahabalipuram Road. They spotted Dinesh Kumar but Ramachandran had escaped,” the officer said.
On suspicion, they handed over Dinesh to the Thoraipakkam patrol police. Since there was no formal complaint, the police took him to an outpost, where after receiving the phone, Dinesh Kumar was sent home with his wife, police said. "We are sure there was no physical torture. We are waiting for the magistrate’s inquiry report," the officer said.