Tamil Nadu Man Dies Inside Police Station, Body Found Over 6 Hours Later

A 60-year-old man died by suicide Tuesday night in an empty room inside a police station in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore. But his body was found over six hours later, early Wednesday, in fact, when the officer whose room it was tried to enter but the door was locked.

The man, identified as Arivolirajan, had mental health issues, and his family said he often complained of being followed. An initial inquiry suggests he died by suicide; his body was found hanging from the ceiling fan in a sub-inspector's room at the Bazaar Police Station.

A more detailed investigation is underway.

Sources told NDTV negligent personnel - the focus is on a sentry who stepped away from his post briefly, allowing Arivolirajan to enter the police station - will face strict action.

The city's top cop, A Saravanan Sundar, said CCTV footage showed Arivolirajan at the Townhall Police Outpost at 11pm Tuesday. He spent five minutes there before going to the Bazaar station, where he told the policeman on sentry duty "60 people are chasing me".

The cop on sentry duty has said he conducted a quick check, found no threat to Arivolirajan's life, and advised him to return the next day. However, he then momentarily stepped away - to attend to a phone call - and Arivolirajan took advantage of the lapse to take the stairs to the first floor.

He entered the empty room and used his dhoti to hang himself from the fan.

The body was found the next morning. The sub-inspector whose room it was tried to enter after morning roll call but the door was locked. He forced it open to find a macabre scene.

The body has been sent for a postmortem and will then be handed to his family.

The tragic incident will ramp up pressure on the ruling DMK, which is already under fire from its main rival, the AIADMK, and its ally, the BJP, over the law-and-order situation in the state. BJP Spokesperson Narayanan THIRUPATHY said "It has taken around 9 hours for the police in a police station to find this. That's the state of police".