COIMBATORE: A 41-year-old prisoner, who was admitted to Salem Government Hospital after he developed breathlessness, died without responding to treatment on Monday.

Police said Thangaraj, a native of Dharmapuri district, was arrested in 2009 for waylaying and lodged in Salem Central Prison. “As he became mentally disturbed, Thangaraj had undergone six months treatment at Government Kilpauk Hospital in Chennai. He was put back in prison in June and he developed breathlessness this Saturday,” police said. Therefore, he was admitted to Salem Government Hospital, where he died without responding to treatment early on Monday.