COONOOR: Mystery shrouds the death of a tribesman near Coonoor with his family blaming police. The tribes association is calling for an investigation to unearth the facts.
Veerappan (58), an Irula tribesman and a cattle-grazer, hailing from Mooparkad tribal hamlet near Coonoor, is said to have gone to nearby Kolakambi to apply for some benefits under a government scheme on Wednesday.
However, on Wednesday evening while he was waiting for the bus, he is said to have been involved in a minor scuffle in the bus stand area while drunk and was reportedly assaulted by a policeman there. He returned home later and on Thursday morning, he was found hanging inside a room next to his house in the hamlet.
His wife Rukmani Veerappan, while talking to the media, said that her husband was upset with the policeman assaulting him in public at Kolakambi and was inconsolable. This could have driven him to take the extreme step, she alleged and added that a higher-level inquiry was needed in this issue.
The tribesman’s daughter Sudha told media persons that her father showed her an abscess in his body, which he had developed after the blow from the policeman. While Kolakambai police registered a case, Mr K.M. Alwaz, secretary of the Nilgiris Adivasi Welfare Association, wanted the district administration to intervene in this issue and initiate necessary action.
