Days after a man died in custody in a Chennai police station, his brother claimed on Saturday that the police offered him Rs 1 lakh to stay silent on the matter, ANI reported.
“There were wounds on my brother’s body... We were not allowed to see his body after autopsy,” Vinod, the brother of 25-year-old V Vignesh, told reporters. “Our house owner was threatened by police to make us vacate the premises.”
Vignesh died on April 19, a day after he and his friend Suresh were held in Chennai’s Kellys area for allegedly possessing drugs, The Indian Express reported.
The police had alleged that they found 50 grams of cannabis, liquor bottles and knife from them during a routine checkup. The two men were drunk and allegedly tried to attack police officials when questioned. They were then taken to the Secretariat Colony Police Station and a case was registered against them, the police said.
The next morning, Vignesh started vomiting and had a seizure after having breakfast. He was taken to a hospital, but doctors said that he had died on the way, the police said.
A case of suspicious death was registered in the matter and a police sub-inspector, a constable and a home guard were suspended, according to The Indian Express. The case has been transferred to the crime branch of Tamil Nadu Crime Investigation Department.
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