Police say they suspect that ingesting a poisonous substance led to the death of a woman from Salem, who was involved in the abduction of a child from Thiruchendur recently, in the custody of the Coimbatore District (Rural) Police on Monday.
The police claimed that the deceased, P. Thilagavathi (35), carried a poisonous substance with her when she and her husband P. Pandiyan (43) were detained by the police from Poondi and taken to the Alandurai police station on Monday noon.
According to the police, Thilagavathi hid the substance in her dress and consumed it in the restroom of the station. The woman collapsed soon after she returned from the restroom, the police claimed. Though the police rushed Thilagavathi to the primary health centre at Pooluvapatti, she was declared brought dead.
The autopsy was conducted at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital in the presence of fifth judicial magistrate V.L. Santhosh on Tuesday. The procedure was videographed. The police suspect that the couple had decided to end their life after finding that the police were after them and their photos appeared in news reports.
A senior police officer claimed that the couple were not subjected to any form of torture in custody. “We secured visuals from surveillance cameras at the station soon after the incident, and they were produced before the magistrate who is conducting an inquiry into the death. We have nothing to hide. The actual cause of death will be known when the post-mortem report is ready,” said the officer, adding that the magistrate also conducted the inquest of the body and visited the police station.
The police have sent a sample of the remaining portion of the white powder substance found from Thilagavathi to a laboratory for chemical analysis.
Thilagavathi and Pandiyan abducted the one-and-a-half-year-old son of a Kanniyakumari native when the family had come to a temple at Thiruchendur on October 5. The couple was picked up by the Alandurai police from Poondi after the Thiruchendur temple police shared their mobile tower location.
The child was rescued from Pandiyan’s house at Pethanaickenpalayam near Attur in Salem district soon after the police apprehended the couple. The police arrested Pandiyan on Monday and he was remanded in judicial custody.
According to the police, Pandiyan is the second husband of Thilagavathi, who has a son and a daughter. The Thiruchendur temple police will investigate the motive behind the abduction of the child.
Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416, and Sneha’s Suicide Prevention Helpline 044-24640050.
