Coimbatore: Prisoner hangs to death in cell, kin seek judicial probe

COIMBATORE: A day after a 32-year-old remand prisoner died in the central prison here, family members of the deceased on Thursday said he was beaten to death by prison warders and demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident.
Police identified the deceased as J Suresh Raja, a native of Gandhipuram in Kodaikanal in Dindigul district. The Palladam police in Tirupur, where he was residing, had arrested him in a theft case three months ago.In that case, he had come out on bail.
Last month, the Race Course (crime) police had nabbed him for stealing motorcycles from the premises of the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH). While he was initially lodged in the Udumalpet sub-jail under judicial custody, Suresh was moved to the Coimbatore Central Prison on Sunday (October 11).
On Wednesday around 12.15pm, he was found hanging in his cell when other inmates had gone for lunch. He was immediately taken to the CMCH, where doctors declared him brought dead.
Following this, central prison superintendent R Krishnaraj lodged a complaint with the Race Course (law & order) police, who registered a case under Section 176 (1-A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Meanwhile, Suresh’s family members petitioned district collector K Rajamani on Thursday, seeking a judicial probe into his death. His aunt Uma, a native of Kodaikanal, said Suresh was working with a garment unit in Tirupur.
“He disappeared 15 days after brining him out from jail on bail. We thought he might have rejoined for work. We didn’t know he was arrested for the motorcycle theft case. We received calls from police and jail authorities after he died in the central prison. We suspect harassment from prison authorities,” she said.
A judicial magistrate visited the CMCH and held an inquiry with the family members of the deceased. On his part, the collector has sought a detailed report from the prison department.
The body was handed over to the family members after postmortem on Thursday evening.