COIMBATORE: Judicial inquiry into the alleged custodial death of a Salem native, P Thilagavathi, at Alandurai police station, was held on Tuesday. According to sources, the inquiry revealed that she had consumed a chemical substance before being taken into custody, traces of which were found during postmortem.
Police have sent the traces for a lab test. Based on test and postmortem reports, the judge will submit a report before the court, sources said. Based on the guidelines of National Human Rights Commission, a postmortem was held in the presence of Judicial Magistrate (V) V L Santhosh at 11.30 am at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. The woman’s body was later handed over to her family and cremated in the evening.
The judge visited Alandurai police station in the evening and held an inquiry with the personnel working there and examined the CCTV footage. He also inquired P Pandiyan, husband of the deceased. According to sources, the woman possessed two packets of a white chemical one of which she consumed on Monday when she and her husband were surrounded by police. Another packet was recovered from her dress, which is suspected to be cyanide.
Meanwhile, Thilagavathi’s first husband Sekar (51) of Karkudalpatti in Namakkal attempted to end his life on Monday night. On Tuesday morning he was discharged from hospital.