Chennai (TN): The Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission Monday recommended the state government carry out an independent probe to determine whether P Ramkumar, the suspect in the murder of techie Swathi in 2016, had died by suicide by biting into a live electric wire inside Puzhal prison or if it was a homicidal injury as alleged by the deceased's father.
The SHRC also asked the government to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to Ramkumar's father R. Paramasivan within one month. Ramkumar was the lone suspect in the murder of Swathi at the Nungambakkam railway station on June 24, 2016. He was arrested and remanded in Puzhal prison where he allegedly died by suicide on September 18 of that year.
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The SHRC had taken suo motu cognizance of the accused's alleged suicide based on news reports and sought a response from the prison authorities. According to prison officials, at around 4:30 pm on September 18, 2016, Ramkumar asked the jail warden for water. When he was taken to the water cooler, Ramkumar allegedly pulled the electric switch box and bit the wires.
He was rushed to the Government Royapettah Hospital where he was brought dead. As for Swathi, the 24-year-old Infosys employee was hacked to death in broad daylight at the Nungambakkam railway station in Chennai while on her way to her office. The assailant, suspected to be Ramkumar, escaped, and Swathi's body lay unattended before the police arrived and started their investigation process.
The SHRC commission also observed on Monday that less number of prison officials were kept to supervise the inmates even as it said that the state government should take responsibility for Ramkumar's death.
