Madurai — A goods-vehicle driver from Theni district was found dead inside the Chekkanoorani police station in Madurai district on Friday, hours after he was brought in for questioning in connection with his vehicle catching fire. Police said the man, Balakrishnan, a native of Devaram in Theni district, died by suicide inside the station restroom. His body was sent to the Madurai Government Rajaji Hospital for a postmortem examination.

Source: ANI

According to reports, Balakrishnan had approached the police after the lorry he was driving caught fire, and he was also questioned over missing bags of cardamom. Dinamalar reported that officers who suspected discrepancies in his account asked him to remain at the station, and he was later found hanging in the station toilet.

Source: Dinamalar via Urban Acres

South Zone Inspector General of Police Vijayendra Bidari said that, in accordance with the standard procedure followed in deaths inside a police station, a judicial inquiry would be conducted and the case transferred to the CB-CID for further investigation. He said departmental action would also be initiated against the station personnel who were present at the time. Police said CCTV footage from the station is being examined to establish the sequence of events.

Source: ANI

Dinamalar reported that the inspector who was on duty at the station and three other personnel have been suspended in connection with the incident. India Today reported that a special CB-CID team is examining the station's CCTV footage to determine whether there was any foul play before the death.

Source: India Today via News89

Balakrishnan's relatives have rejected the police account. They allege — and this remains an allegation that has not been established — that he was assaulted by police personnel and that the death was presented as a suicide. The death prompted protests and demands for an independent investigation, and opposition leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami demanded an inquiry into the incident.

What happens next will depend on the postmortem findings, the CCTV examination and the CB-CID inquiry, which must now establish how a man who walked into a police station to report a vehicle fire was found dead inside it.