Tirumala Milk Treasury Manager's Death Appears To Be Suicide: Top Cop

The death of Naveen Bollineni, Treasury Manager at Tirumala Milk, "appears to be a case of suicide," said Chennai Police Commissioner A Arun, even as the police have launched an investigation into the alleged unofficial enquiry conducted by a senior officer.

Naveen, 40, was found dead in Chennai last week, days after facing internal allegations of misappropriating Rs 40 crore from the private dairy firm. In a purported suicide note emailed to his mother, sister, and colleagues, Naveen blamed certain company officials for mental distress-but made no mention of police harassment, the Commissioner clarified.

The top cop confirmed that Deputy Commissioner of Police (Kolathur) Pandiarajan had made preliminary enquiries without formally registering a case or beginning an official investigation.

"Deputy Commissioner Pandiarajan should not have enquired into this. We are investigating his actions," Commissioner Rathore said, adding that appropriate action would be taken if any wrongdoing is established. He also clarified that under standard procedure, any financial fraud involving more than Rs 1 crore must be investigated only by the Central Crime Branch (CCB).

Despite the company's internal complaint to the police, no FIR had been registered at the time of Naveen's death, and officials say the firm had not furnished necessary financial documents.

The BJP had earlier accused the DMK government of allowing unofficial police enquiries, with former State President K Annamalai slamming the administration for "losing control over the force." The DMK has denied these allegations.

The case has now been registered as a suspicious death, and Joint Commissioner of Police has been directed to conduct an internal inquiry and submit a detailed report.