P Ramkumar
P Ramkumar, a man from Meenakshipuram near Tenkasi, died on September 18, 2016, while held at Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai. Prison officials said he bit a live electric wire in a junction box while being taken for a medical checkup, and that he died by suicide. He was taken to Royapettah Government Hospital, where he was declared dead. His father, Paramasivam, said police had killed his son, and his lawyer questioned the suicide account. Later accounts say a postmortem and a magistrate's inquiry concluded he died of electrocution, while a histopathology review and a casualty doctor told the State Human Rights Commission that the findings did not show electric shock, and the Commission ordered a reinvestigation.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed). Prison officials say he bit a live wire and killed himself, but his father and lawyer dispute that account, and a postmortem doctor and histopathology experts told the State Human Rights Commission that the injuries and tissue findings do not support electrocution.
Reported by: Puzhal Central Prison officials (the agency that held him); Former Puzhal Central Prison superintendent R Anbalagan (the agency that held him); Five-member postmortem doctors' team (medical examiner or coroner); Magistrate's inquest (court); Police; Father Paramasivan (family or their lawyers); State Human Rights Commission (outside investigators); National Human Rights Commission (outside investigators).
Sources (5)
- Swathi murder accused Ramkumar commits suicide in Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai
- Techie murder case: No proof of electrocution causing accused Ramkumar’s death
- Swathi murder: Doctor's statement casts doubts on Ramkumar's death in prison
- Swathi murder case: SHRC restrained from inquiry in Ramkumar death case
- Ramkumar ‘suicide’: Tamil Nadu must pay Rs 10L to dad, probe death