MADURAI: The police version of the death of a 52-year-old man, whose wife alleged that he was assaulted in custody, differed from the circumstances cited before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, which directed a judicial magistrate to conduct an inquest and a team of doctors to perform the post-mortem examination.
Madurai city police, in a two-page post on its Facebook account on Tuesday, stated that Paramasivam of Mela Anuppanadi was not assaulted by the police and had instead sustained a head injury after falling from the staircase at his residence.
According to the city police, Paramasivam and his neighbour KP Balakrishnan quarrelled over parking a vehicle on the night of July 17. Members of both families, including Paramasivam and his wife Ayyammal, were admitted to Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) for treatment. A case was registered against members of both families in connection with the quarrel and they were subsequently released on station bail, the police said.
The police said they later learnt that Paramasivam had sustained injuries after falling from the staircase at his residence. He was admitted to GRH as an inpatient on August 5 at around 12.05 pm. When police personnel approached the now-dead 'victim,' he reportedly told them that he had fallen from the staircase himself and that there was no need for a police inquiry, according to the police version. Based on this, the station house officer made a general diary entry.
Doctors at GRH advised him to undergo surgery for his head injury, but he refused and was discharged from the hospital on August 6, the police said. He was subsequently admitted to Government Vellore Medical College Hospital in a semi-conscious state on August 11, where he underwent surgery.
Meanwhile, Ayyammal filed a complaint with the Madurai City Police Commissioner, S Rajendran, on August 15, alleging that her husband's health had deteriorated after he was assaulted by police personnel from Chinthamani police station.
The Police Commissioner recommended an inquiry by the Revenue Divisional Officer.
Paramasivam subsequently died at a private hospital on 16th August, and his body was brought to GRH for post-mortem examination. Arrangements were also made for an inquiry by RDO Sangeetha.
However, the police said Ayyammal did not cooperate with the inquiry on August 17 and approached the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.
The court subsequently directed a judicial magistrate to conduct an inquiry. The police said Judicial Magistrate-I, Madurai, was conducting the inquiry and that further action would be taken based on the report.