RAMANATHAPURAM: A 37-year-old woman, who had arrived at a polling centre to cast her vote, collapsed and died later at a hospital in Ramanathapuram on Friday night. The deceased was identified as Shanthi, of Kunjarvalasai area in Mandabam. Following her death, her mother-in-law submitted a petition with the district administration on Saturday, seeking financial aid for Shanthi's children.
Police sources said that Shanthi had lost her husband, who was a fisherman, a couple of years ago. After the family's responsibility fell on her, Shanthi was employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme. Accordingly, on April 19, she reportedly volunteered to distribute booth slips at one of the polling centres in Vedalai.
After Shanthi was done with her work in the evening, she went to the polling centre designated to her. When she was about to exit the station after casting her vote, she fell unconscious. Shanthi did not respond to the medical aid provided by the practitioner present there, and was rushed to the Ramanathapuram Government Hospital. She died later in the night.
Although the cause behind her death is yet to be ascertained, a senior police official said that Shanthi seemed to have died of natural causes. A case has been booked at the Mandabam police station, and further investigation is under way.
A day after the incident, Shanthi's mother-in-law, Murugammal (57), submitted a petition with the district collector, seeking financial assistance for Shanthi's two girls, aged 12 and 10 years. The officials concerned assured to take action on the request.