india

Updated: May 22, 2019 09:25 IST

A 27-year-old man was on Tuesday found hanging from the window of a police station washroom in Kerala’s Kottayam hours after he was taken into custody for a drunken brawl, a police officer said.

Kottayam police superintendent Harishankar said P Nawaz sought permission to use the washroom moments before he was to be taken to a court. “When he failed to return, the policemen on duty forcibly opened the washroom’s door and found Nawaz hanging from the steel bars of the window,” he said.

Kerala police chief Loknath Behra promised strict action while ordering an inquiry into the alleged suicide. A magisterial inquiry will be also conducted as per the norm in the cases of deaths in custody.

Nawaz was found hanging a week after the state government gave permission to prosecute nine policemen allegedly involved in the custodial death of 27-year-old Sreejth in Thrissur in April last year.

Sreejth was under arrest in a case of alleged abetment to suicide when he was rushed to hospital with abdominal injuries.