The family of the victim in yet another case of custodial death in Tamil Nadu has alleged that policemen involved in the case attempted for hours to bribe them into silence.
Thangamani, 47, from Tiruvannamalai district was picked up by the police on April 26, on alleged involvement in the sale of spurious liquor. The following day, he died in a government hospital in Thiruvannamalai. The family of the deceased has claimed that police officials initiated a dialogue with an offer to buy their silence over the alleged custodial death.
“Police tried to bribe us. They asked us to take the money and cremate my father. We said we didn’t want any money. All we want is to ensure that an FIR is registered against those responsible for my father’s death. We demand the maximum punishment for the perpetrators. Police offered us Rs 3 lakh. They started negotiation with us. It started at 9pm on Thursday and went on till 3 am Friday and they were ready to pay us Rs 7 lakh. We said we don’t want the money at all,” Dhinakaran, son of Thangamani, told News18.
The family has claimed that the body of the deceased bore injury marks.
“Police said my father died after he developed seizure. They (police) said my father died due to health issues. My question to the police is this — if he died because of health conditions, how did they obtain a fitness certificate before taking him to prison? They are fooling us… We saw marks on my father’s body. They beat him to death,” Dhinakaran said.
News18 reached out to the police for comment and the story will be updated when a response is received.
Thangamani’s family said that when they came out of the mortuary, they were surrounded by a few police officials who asked them to sign before leaving the hospital premises.
“Only after we made a hue and cry about it and said we will protest did they leave us,” Dhinarakan added.
The alleged case of custodial death has been reported days after the death of Vignesh in Chennai, who passed away in police custody. The Tamil Nadu government has announced Rs 10 lakh as solatium to the family of Vignesh. The government has also announced that it will initiate a probe into the death of Thangamani.
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