Chennai: A 54-year-old woman arrested by Kancheepuram district police in connection with a theft case died while in police custody on Monday.
While no official word is out on the cause of the woman’s death, police claim the woman developed health complications during investigations and was moved to a hospital where she died.
The deceased has been identified as Mariammal, a native of Rajapalayam in Virudhunagar district. A special team picked up Mariammal from her village after she was suspected to have stolen from a house in Kalpakkam township, 60 km from Chennai.
Mariammal was working as a domestic help at Ramesh Kumar’s house on 8th street in Kalpakkam township. Ramesh Kumar works as a staff at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (Igcar) at Kalpakkam. Police sources said he had hired the services of the woman about over a month ago through a manpower agency.
Mariammal used to begin work early in the morning and leave the home by noon. She stopped reporting to work from January 4 and her phone was switched off.
Coincidentally, Ramesh Kumar’s wife, while going through the cupboard found 15 sovereign worth gold jewellery missing after which they filed a police complaint.
Since there was no forced entry, the needle of suspicion naturally fell on the elderly woman who was also missing, police sources said. Police contacted the manpower agency and traced her address and a special team picked her up on Sunday and brought her to Kalpakkam. “During investigations, she confessed to have stolen the jewellery. The jewellery was recovered from a pawn shop in Tamb-aram,” said a source. While she was being interrogated in Kalpakkam police station about her involvement in any other thefts, she complained of chest pain. She was rushed to a clinic nearby and later moved to a private multi-speciality hospital in Kelambakkam where she died during the early hours of Monday. The body is expected to be taken to a Government hospital for autopsy, after which the exact cause of death can be ascertained.
