TN: Cop, accused in custodial deaths case, dies of COVID-19
In an unfortunate development, a police officer, who faced action over the custodial deaths of a father and son in police custody in June in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi, died of coronavirus. The deceased, Special Sub-Inspector Paldurai, was among the ten accused. He reportedly contracted the virus while being lodged at the Madurai Central Prison. He was admitted to Government Rajaji Hospital on July 24.
In June, the brutal deaths of 62-year-old Jayaraj and his 31-year-old son Bennix sparked nationwide outrage. On June 19, Jayaraj, who owned a mobile shop in Sathankulam, was picked up for keeping his business open beyond permitted hours. Bennix later reached the station and argued over his father's detention. The two were beaten all night which resulted in their demise on June 22.
Soon after the gruesome deaths, all ten accused were arrested. The Madras High Court took cognizance of the matter and directed Kovilpatti Judicial Magistrate Bharathidasan to conduct a probe. Thereafter, CBI stepped in. After getting permission from the Madras High Court, a CBI team, led by ASP VK Shukla, started a probe. Last month, the top agency got two-day custody of five accused cops.
While CBI continued with its probe, 56-year-old Paldurai remained in jail, where he possibly contracted the infection. Doctors at the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) said that he was suffering from "uncontrolled diabetes." On Friday (August 7), his wife Mangayar Thilagam had complained that her husband was suffering from degraded health conditions. She wanted special medical attention for him, and also wrote to Thoothukudi SP.
Now, the Indian Express reports that a magisterial probe will be most likely ordered into the death of Paldurai since he was a remand prisoner. Reports suggest he was undergoing treatment for diabetes even while being lodged in prison. Paldurai had been arrested in the custodial death case on July 8 by the Crime Branch- Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) of Tamil Nadu Police.
Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu, 5,914 people tested positive for coronavirus on Monday. With this development, the total number of active coronavirus cases in the state crossed 3 lakh, with the absolute figure at 3,02,815. On the brighter side, more than 6,000 people were discharged yesterday, taking the recovery statistics to more than 2 lakh. There are 53,099 active cases.
