A woman from Salem, who along with her husband was allegedly involved in the abduction of a toddler from Tiruchendur on October 5, died after she was taken to custody by the Coimbatore District (Rural) Police on Monday.
P. Thilagavathi, wife of P. Pandiyan (43) from Pethanaickenpalayam near Attur in Salem district, died after collapsing at the Alandurai police station, said the police.
The Tiruchendur Temple police were on the look out for the couple on charges of abducting the one-and-a-half-year-old son of a Kanniyakumari native when the family had come to the Subramania Swamy temple on October 5. The couple abducted the child in a two-wheeler and the police managed to get surveillance camera visuals.
The Coimbatore District Police said officers from the Alandurai station went to Poondi on Monday noon after the team from the Tiruchendur station, which was investigating the abduction, shared the mobile tower location of the couple. The Alandurai police took them to the police station and alerted the Tiruchendur police.
A senior police officer said the Alandurai police asked very basic questions and the couple admitted to have abducted the boy from Tiruchendur. They also shared the location of Pandiyan’s residence from where the boy was rescued by the Tiruchendur police, the officer said.
According to the officer, the woman fainted at the station and the police immediately rushed her to the primary health centre at Pooluvapatti. However, she was declared brought dead. The police later shifted the body to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for post-mortem that is expected to be conducted on Tuesday.
“Visuals of all the surveillance cameras at the station have been secured and they will be produced before the magistrate for inquiry,” the officer said.
The police registered a case under Section 176 1(A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, under which, an inquiry shall be held by the Judicial Magistrate or the Metropolitan Magistrate in any death in the custody of the police or in any other custody authorised by the court. The guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission should be followed during the post-mortem of the deceased.
