A man who was accused of hacking an Infosys employee to death at a railway station in July was found dead in his prison cell in a case of suspected suicide on Sunday.
Preliminary reports said Ramkumar, a 22-year-old engineer, bit a live wire jutting out of a switchboard in his cell block in Puzhal central prison. He was taken to a government hospital where he was declared brought dead, sources said.
Ramkumar, a resident of Thirunelveli district, was accused of murdering 24-year-old Swathi while she was waiting to board a train to work at the Nungambakkam railway station. According to then Chennai police commissioner TK Rajendran, Ramkumar was “infatuated” with the victim and was angry at being rejected by her.
He was arrested from his village in August after CCTV footage showed him near the crime scene following Swathi’s murder. He had attempted to slit his throat at the time of arrest but was stopped by the police.
His parents, who had denied the charges against him, suspected foul play and called for a CBI probe into his death, a demand backed by VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan.
{{/usCountry}}His parents, who had denied the charges against him, suspected foul play and called for a CBI probe into his death, a demand backed by VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan.
{{/usCountry}}Police were yet to file a final chargesheet in the case, which triggered widespread outrage in social media over the police’s initial handling of the investigation and the poor security setup at the railway station.