Manikandan died of poisoning, says postmortem; family cries foul

The reason for the death of college student L Manikandan hours after release from police custody in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district on December 4, was poisoning, according to the post mortem report submitted before court on Tuesday (December 14).

The final report of the re-post mortem said, “Based on the histopathological examination report of re-postmortem and reports of chemical analysis and histopathological examination of first autopsy, the deceased would appear to have died of monocrotophos poisoning.”

Monocrotophos was detected in the stomach and its contents, intestine and its contents, liver, kidney, blood and stomach gastric contents. Monocrotophos is an organophosphorus insecticide.

The re-postmortem of the body of the deceased was performed at the Ramanathapuram government medical college and hospital on December 8 based on the directions of the Madurai bench of Madras High Court. The report was submitted before the court on Tuesday (December 14).

Advocate B Dineshkumar, who appeared for Manikandan’s mother, said, “The doctor who observed the postmortem on our behalf has noticed injuries at several parts of the body, including shoulders and stomach but it was not mentioned in the report. It looks like the report was fabricated to support police officials.”

We will be moving the court again seeking CBI inquiry into the case, he added.

Also read: Horror continues: Outrage in TN after 21-year-old dies of ‘police torture’

Manikandan, a 21-year-old student, was driving with two pillion riders and did not stop when police asked them to near Keelathoovam Kali temple.  After a long chase, the police caught Manikandan while the other two managed to escape.

As per L Alexpandian, Manikandan’s brother, their mother was called to the station around 7.15 pm. After about an hour of waiting outside, the police brought Manikandan, took pictures with the family, and sent them away.

“Throughout our journey home, he was complaining of body pain. He had told us that the police had beaten him in the stomach and private parts. A few hours later, he started vomiting blood and died,” Alexpandian said.

Following this, Manikandan’s mother L Ramalakshmi alleged that her son died of brutal police torture and sought justice for her son.

The Ramanathapuram police however refuted the allegations and said Manikandan was picked up for inquiry and was not ill-treated at the police station. They also released the CCTV footage of the inquiry.