A 35-year-old remand prisoner’s death inside the Nagercoil sub-jail in Tamil Nadu’s Kanniyakumari district has led to the arrest of three prison officials. The prisoner, Sabari Varman, a differently abled grocery shop owner, was arrested on July 9 for allegedly possessing banned gutka products. He was produced before a magistrate, remanded to judicial custody, and lodged in the Nagercoil sub-jail.
Varman developed a sudden health problem early on Monday morning and was rushed to the Kanniyakumari Government Medical College Hospital at Asaripallam, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. However, a post-mortem examination revealed multiple injuries, contradicting the initial claim of a possible ‘medical emergency’. This led to the arrest of chief warder Jegan, 47, and warders Sivakumar and Thiruvudai Nambi on Tuesday.
The family of the deceased alleged that he had been assaulted while in custody and refused to receive his body, claiming they noticed injuries on it. They demanded an impartial investigation, rejecting the initial suggestion that he had died of a heart attack. The family also stated that prison officials had casually informed them of his death, alleging that they were ‘smiling’ while conveying the news.
Kanniyakumari Superintendent of Police R Stalin met the protesting family and assured them that appropriate action would be taken based on the post-mortem findings and the outcome of the investigation. A judicial inquiry was conducted by Judicial Magistrate Sathyamurthy. According to investigators, Varman was assaulted by one of the warders after he allegedly behaved ‘abnormally’ inside the prison and provoked other inmates. The other two officials were arrested on allegations of concealing evidence.
The police also identified five inmates who allegedly assisted in the assault and stated that further action would follow after an investigation.
