Driver from Theni found dead while in custody at Chekkanoorani police station in Madurai

A truck driver from Theni district, R. Balakrishnan, who was being questioned at the Chekkanoorani police station in Madurai in connection with a container truck fire, died in custody on Saturday morning. The police claimed he was found dead in the restroom on the station premises.

Amid outrage over the custodial death, Muthu, Inspector of the Chekkanoorani police station, and two police constables were placed under suspension. The case was transferred to the Crime Branch-CID for further investigation and Balakrishnan’s body was taken to the Government Rajaji Hospital.

A statement from the Madurai District Police said Balakrishnan had submitted a complaint that his truck had caught fire near Valandur on November 3, destroying the cardamom bags stored in its container. Based on the complaint, the Valandur police registered a case of accidental fire on Friday evening.

Balakrishnan was then detained at the Chekkanoorani police station for inquiry. The statement claimed that he was detained at the station to assist the Investigating Officer in verifying CCTV camera footage related to the case.

The police claimed that Balakrishnan had gone to the restroom at 6 a.m. on Saturday and attempted to end his life. The police found him unconscious in the restroom and rushed him to a hospital in Madurai, where the doctor declared him brought dead.

However, his wife Sudha claimed that Balakrishnan had been questioned by the police on Thursday too, and the inquiry had resumed for the second day on Friday. “I had accompanied him to the police station on the previous day (Thursday).

He was questioned there from 6 p.m. till 11.30 p.m. He was asked to come again the next day,” she said, crying inconsolably. She regretted not having accompanied her husband to the police station on Friday. Ms. Sudha charged that her husband was “fixed” in the case in which he himself was the complainant, as the value of the cardamom destroyed in the fire was high.

Stating that Balakrishnan had recorded a video of the truck fire on his mobile phone and even the owner of the vehicle had rushed to the spot of the accident, she complained that police personnel had detained only Balakrishnan at the station on Friday.

Balakrishnan’s family members alleged that his prolonged detention and overnight questioning by the police over an accidental fire that was reported nearly 10 days ago was baffling. They also asserted that Balakrishnan was a bold person and refused to accept the police’s version that the driver had taken his own life.

“How can a man who is over five-and-a-half-foot tall end his life inside a bathroom that is only six-foot high?” an advocate asked. He also sought the CCTV camera footage of the police station from the day Balakrishnan’s questioning started to the time of his death.

Reacting to the incident, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami strongly criticised the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu. Pointing to the police’s version that Balakrishnan died by suicide, Mr. Palaniswami accused the Police Department of being negligent to the extent that a person could take his own life inside a station.

Highlighting recent criminal incidents, including a missing young girl in Gingee who has not yet been found, a jewellery store heist in Madurai, and a Tasmac shop burglary in Kancheepuram, Mr. Palaniswami said the people who had voted for the TVK “believing cinema to be reality” and handed them power have started to realise the “huge mistake” they had made.

He further urged the government to implement strict measures to prevent criminal activities in the State. (Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416. and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)