Copyright thehindu
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Judicial Magistrate, Tirunelveli, to submit the report with regard to the inquiry conducted into the death of a remand prisoner in Palayamkottai Central Prison. Justice Sunder Mohan sought the report while hearing a petition filed by V. Muthulakshmi of Tenkasi district, wife of the deceased remand prisoner, Vinothkumar. She sought a re-postmortem of her husband’s body and compensation under The Scheduled Castes and The Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Rules. The petitioner said her husband was arrested and remanded in prison in connection with a case. Subsequently, the family was informed that Vinothkumar killed himself in the prison. However, she alleged that her husband was beaten up inside the prison. The day before he died, he was produced before the court in Tenkasi where he met his mother and sister. He told them that he was afraid of the police and that they physically abused him in the prison. She alleged that her husband was brutally abused and harassed in prison for no reason. She sought a re-postmortem alleging that the postmortem was conducted without the family’s knowledge. She doubted that her husband had killed himself. She also sought compensation and appropriate action against the officials who were involved in the incident. (Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416, Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050) and Speak2Us mental health helpline 9375493754.)
