A 45-year-old man in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district died after being beaten by a cop with a lathi. A murder case has been registered against the cop, who was arrested later on Wednesday.
The victim, identified as Murugesan, is a farmer, the police said. Family members of the victim have filed a complaint against the cop, identified as R Periasamy, a special sub-inspector at Ethapur police station in Salem, the police added.
The incident occurred on Tuesday after Murugesan and two of his friends went to Kallakuruchi district to consume alcohol, as liquor shops were closed due to the ongoing lockdown. While the trio was returning on a two-wheeler, the police intercepted them in Ethapur.
“The police found them inebriated, so the cop asked them to leave the two-wheeler and walk,” said a senior police official of Salem, who did not want to be named. “Murugesan then began quarrelling.”
When the verbal exchanges escalated, the cop allegedly started thrashing Murugesan on the road. A video of the incident, filmed by one of Murugesan’s friends, showed him collapsing on the road and his friends pleading to the cop to not to hit him.
Murugesan’s friends then rushed him in an ambulance to a local hospital in Attur, from where he was sent to Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College on Wednesday. “He was declared brought dead,” a senior official said. “A post-mortem has been completed. Only after the report findings come can we ascertain the cause of death. His treatment, however, records that he was in an inebriated state and had some lacerations and aberrations, the official added.
{{/usCountry}}Murugesan’s friends then rushed him in an ambulance to a local hospital in Attur, from where he was sent to Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College on Wednesday. “He was declared brought dead,” a senior official said. “A post-mortem has been completed. Only after the report findings come can we ascertain the cause of death. His treatment, however, records that he was in an inebriated state and had some lacerations and aberrations, the official added.
{{/usCountry}}Chief minister MK Stalin announced a ₹10 lakh solatium for the family.
The incident is another case of police brutality in the city after a man and his son died in police custody in Thoothukudi district June last year, triggering a countrywide outrage.