THOOTHUKUDI: A 45-year-old man, who set himself on fire on Saturday after police attacked him in front of his house, succumbed to injuries at the Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital (TKMCH) on Tuesday. The family has alleged that police were pressuring them not to complain to higher officers and receive the body without making any fuss.
According to sources, B Anand Cyrus (45) of Rajagopal Nagar had a quarrel with his neighbour Karupasamy on Saturday. Based on latter’s oral complaint, four personnel from the SIPCOT police arrived at the spot and allegedly attacked Anand. He suffered injuries on his body and mouth. As Anand’s wife Sarobina was questioning the police, he tried to die by suicide. The policemen poured water over him, and sent him to TKMCH. Anand, who suffered over 70% burn injuries, died around 6.30 pm on Tuesday.
Sarobina told reporters that police threatened her and her son not to complain about the issue to higher officials. “They said the whole family would be arrested in a false case if we complained”, she said. The victim’s son A Mariya Sanjay (21) said the police verbally abused his father and beat him using Karupasamy’s walking stick.
Refusing to accept her husband’s body, Sarobina urged the district administration to initiate action against Karuppasamy and the four police personnel. A video of Anand complaining about the police attack from hospital went viral on Tuesday. When asked, SP Albert John told TNIE that he is inquiring into the allegations.
(To overcome suicidal thoughts, contact TN helpline 104 and Sneha suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)