A resident of Kurumalai tribal settlement in Anamalai Tiger Reserve Marimuthu (48) who was beneath interrogation in a purported case of wildlife offence reportedly ended his life in the bathroom of the Udumalpet Forest Range Office in Tiruppur district on Thursday morning.
The incident triggered fees of “custodial dying” levelled by his Mudhuvar tribal group.
A day after Marimuthu, who was booked in a ganja case alongside along with his kinsmen throughout 2022, was acquitted of the crime by the Udumalpet Court, he had, on Wednesday accomplished the authorized formalities and was returning to his home close to Marayoor in Idukki district in Kerala the place he had relocated along with his spouse and daughters after securing anticipatory bail, when he was intercepted and introduced again to the Udumalpet Range Office near midnight.
Marimuthu, Forest Department sources contended, was introduced again for questioning in reference to a wildlife offence.
Going by the knowledge supplied by the Forest Department officers to the Udumalpet police, Marimuthu had sought permission to ease himself within the early hours and had ended his life in the bathroom.
However, the dying has triggered speculations that he was murdered by the Forest personnel and it was projected as suicide.
“Marimuthu was a gritty individual; It is a case of custodial dying,” G. Selvan, State Joint Secretary, Tamil Nadu Tribal Association, alleged in a criticism to the police.
In a illustration to the Inspector of Udumalpet Police Station, the sufferer’s spouse Pandiammal (40) reiterated that her husband was a brave individual and that she had a suspicion that he had been murdered by the Forest Department personnel in “unlawful” custody.
The autopsy have to be carried out in-camera within the presence of senior authorities officers, Pandiammal insisted. The Udumalpet police registered a case beneath Section 196 of BNNS, 2023, coping with custodial dying.
A senior police official mentioned within the night hours that additional investigation was underway.
A case must be registered beneath SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, and brought up for thorough investigation by the CB CID police, G. Thanaraj, tribal rights activist, emphasised.
Published – August 01, 2025 04:35 am IST
