Three cops booked, suspended over suicide of farmer in Tenkasi

Tenkasi: Three policemen attached to the Sivagiri police station have been booked and suspended over the suicide of a farmer in Tenkasi district. The suspended personnel are inspector Muralidharan and head constables Kanagaraj and Muthukannan.

A senior police official said the investigation would be conducted fairly. “However, inspection of CCTV footage and statements of the people present during the meeting showed no instance of disrespectable behaviour from the accused police personnel,” the official added.

Police said the deceased farmer, Anthonyraj, 63, of Thalavaipuram village, had a long-standing land dispute with his neighbour Pasupathi, wife of Pechipandi. Pasupathi lodged a complaint against Anthonyraj on May 1 stating the latter was occupying her land. Police conducted peace talks between two families and asked them to maintain status quo until a survey was undertaken.

In this background, Pasupathi lodged a complaint against Anthonyraj again on May 15, stating that Anthonyraj had undertaken construction on disputed land. Police called both groups for talks on the same day. According to Anthonyraj’s family members, police personnel present at the meeting verbally abused, assaulted and hurled caste-based insults on him. The family reported the incident to senior police officials on the same day, the police officer said.

On May 21, Anthonyraj arrived at the police station after consuming pesticide. He was rushed to a hospital, but he died on Sunday. The family alleged that abuse by police drove him to took the extreme step.

Following the death on Sunday, three police personnel were booked and suspended, said the police officer.