Just hours after news broke out that Swathi murder accused Ramkumar had allegedly killed himself in prison, the timing and nature of his death have now come under a dark cloud.
Ramkumar's family has since decided to move High Court for a CBI investigation. They have demanded that the case is registered as a murder and that the post mortem should be videographed and conducted by doctors of their choice.The petition has been filed at the Madras High Court and is expected to come up before the judge around 2 pm. The family is expected to reach the morgue on Monday afternoon while the post mortem will take place in the evening.
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Protestors from Puthiya Thamizhagam outside the Royapettah mortuary where Ramkumar's body has been kept.
A doctor at the Royapettah General Hospital in Chennai told TNM, "He has wounds to his chest and left side of mouth, it looks like an electric shock. He was brought in at 5:30pm, and was brought dead. We registered death at 5:45pm."
Several questions are being raised about the death, which is said to have happened in the evening of September 18. Ramkumar’s family and lawyers have made severe allegations against the police. The lawyer has also released a call-recording to the media, which cannot be independently verified by TNM at this stage.
While VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan has asked for a CBI probe, the CPI(M) state committee has asked for a judicial inquiry.
Here are some allegations and accusations which are being made.
Speaking to a Tamil news channel, Ramkumar’s father Paramasivam said, "I was called and informed that he was not well and was being taken to the hospital. They did not tell me anything about the suicide. They have killed him and then called me. This is murder. He is inside the jail, then how do you think he was killed? He was killed by the police and others.”
The family has since decided to move High Court for a CBI investigation. They have also demanded that the post mortem be conducted by doctors of their choice.The family is expected to reach the morgue on Monday afternoon while the post mortem will take place in the evening.
A call-recording was leaked by Ramkumar’s lawyer Ramaraj, which is allegedly a conversation between Ramaraj and an official at Puzhal Prison.
In the conversation, which allegedly took place at 6pm, the lawyer is heard asking questions to a prison official who picks up the phone and says “Puzhal 2”. Puzhal 2 is the prison where Ramkumar was lodged.
When the lawyer asks the purported official if the news about Ramkumar’s suicide is true, the person says that it is not, and only that Ramkumar was unwell and has been taken to the hospital. The person also says that Ramkumar’s family has been informed.
When the lawyer asks how Ramkumar felt unwell since he had just met him the previous day, and he was fine then, the person says he is not aware of the situation and that he has only been taken to hospital due to a health problem.
The doctors say, and the accident register had recorded, that there were injuries in his neck and chest. Questions are being raised if these injuries are consistent with ones incurred when a person bites into a live wire, which is what the police reportedly claim Ramkumar did to commit suicide.
The lawyer has also claimed that when he met Ramkumar yesterday, he was not depressed or unhappy.