Charges of excessive force and 'bias' were levelled at the police force by the victim's wife and relatives after a 45-year-old government employee died in custody at the Chunambedu police station. | Photo Credit: Indiatimes, Representative Image

Chennai: Charges of excessive force and 'bias' were levelled at the police force by the victim's wife and relatives after a 45-year-old government employee died in custody at the Chunambedu police station. According to a TOI report, the officers at the police station have stated that Sitarasu, a junior assistant at the education department hanged himself with his underwear in a washroom during a four-hour blackout.

The victim had been detained for assaulting his neighbour. Policemen found the body at around 4:30 am after the power supply was back. “Policemen on night duty found the body suspended from the door bolt of the station washroom,” a police officer told TOI. “Sitrarasu fastened his underwear around his neck and attached it to the bolt.”

The officer also added that the man seems to have buckled his knees and this led to his neck snapping. However, Sitarasu's wife Vennila has said in a complaint that the policemen had beaten her husband to death and then made it appear like a suicide. “The policemen were biased against Sitrarasu,” Prashanth, Vennila's uncle told the paper. “They refused to register case against Jagan (the neighbour),” he added.

“The Chunambedu police registered a case under CrPC Section 176 (custodial death) and, following procedure, forwarded it for an inquiry by a magistrate,” the officer said, reports the paper. “We will take action based on the magistrate’s final report.” The officer said that a preliminary report indicated that Sitarasu attacked his neighbour Jagan.

“The electricity board cut power supply to the locality after midnight on Tuesday as a precautionary measure, after gusts of wind threatened to snap electricity cables,” the officer said, quoted policemen at the station on night duty as saying, reports TOI. “When the lights went out, Sitrarasu went to the washroom and hanged himself.”