Nearly three years after Tiruchengode Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Vishnupriya was found hanging at her residence in Namakkal district, a court in Coimbatore has closed the controversial case after terming it a suicide.
The case closure comes after the CBI had in April submitted its report stating that there was no evidence of murder or foul play and the 27-year-old DSP had in fact killed herself.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Coimbatore also issued a summon to late DSP Vishnupriya's father Ravi asking him to appear before the court on May 9. The letter states, "It has been decided by the CBI that your aforementioned case will not considered for further investigation. If you have anything further related to the case (that you wish to raise), you are ordered to appear before this court on 9.5.2018.
Vishnupriya's father has told the media that he will decide on the next course of action after having perused the report.
On September 18, 2015 DSP Vishnupriya was found hanging at her residence in Tiruchengode. Vishnupriya was investigating the alleged caste killing case involving Dalit youth Gokulraj, who was found dead on a railway track in June 2015. Gokulraj was allegedly kidnapped and murdered for being friendly with a girl, who belonged to the Gounder community.
In the suicide note left behind by Vishnupriya, she hints at pressures of the job but says that her suicide should not be linked to the Gokulraj case. “I am the IO of a sensitive case. Please don’t relate my death to the case. It would be bullshit,” reads the suicided note. She goes on to urge the media not to “create stories” over her death. While she said she loved her job, Vishnupriya’s suicide note also stated, “I made a mistake” and goes on to write “that guilt is troubling me a lot.”
In her suicide note, Vishnupriya also urges his parents, “Don’t give the police any trouble... don’t go to any political party... take my body and leave silently,” adding, “Nobody has done anything to me, you know they cannot.”
However, Vishnupriya’s death went on to be raised by opposition parties in the state, who demanded that the CBI probe the case. Her parents also alleged that the young woman had taken the extreme step following alleged harassment by her superiors.
While Vishnupriya’s death was first being investigated by the state CB-CID, it was transferred to the CBI in July 2016 by the Madras High Court. This after Vishnupriya’s father Ravi moved the court seeking a free and fair investigation.
The CBI completed the investigation in December last year and submitted its report to the court in Coimbatore in April.