CHENNAI: A 63-year-old woman from Tiruvannamalai district, arrested earlier this month on charges of selling liquor illegally, died in custody at the Vellore Central Prison after developing breathing difficulties in the early hours of Thursday (August 28).

The deceased, Ellammal, wife of Ramamoorthy from a shanty town near Peranamallur, had been taken into custody by the Peranamallur police for allegedly storing liquor bottles at her residence and selling them at inflated prices. She was lodged in solitary confinement at the women’s block in Thorapadi, Vellore, on August 13.

According to prison officials, Ellammal complained of breathing trouble around 2 am yesterday and was immediately shifted in the jail ambulance to the Government Hospital at Adukampparai, where doctors declared her brought dead, as reported by Daily Thanthi.

Following a complaint by the prison authorities, the Bagayam police seized the body and sent it for post-mortem examination. A case has been registered and further inquiry is on.