MALAPPURAM: Abdul Latheef, 45, a native of Pallikunnu in Wandoor, was found hanging inside the toilet at Wandoor police station on Sunday after being arrested late on Saturday for questioning over theft cases. Latheef reportedly hung himself from a hook of the ceiling in the toilet using the dothi he was wearing at around 12 pm, the police said. The doctors pronounced him dead on arrival when he was taken to a nearby hospital.
A police team led by district police chief Debesh Kumar Behra and Wandoor MLA A.P. Anilkumar reached the station after the incident. “An inquiry into the incident has been ordered and severe action will be taken against the erring officers,” Mr Behra said. There were nine theft cases pending against Latheef, the police said. Meanwhile, Latheef’s relatives have alleged that it was a case of suspicious death and lodged a complaint seeking a probe.
The incident caused a huge public outcry at the station. Youth Congress and Muslim Youth League workers marched into the station and later staged sit-in in front of the police station and Manjeri-Wandoor state highway protesting against the death. State police chief Loknath Behera directed Malappuram district police chief to submit an inquiry report on the death. Stern action will be initiated against those responsible for the incident, the state police chief said in a statement.
