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In the Anamalai Tiger Reserve Marimuthu (48), a resident of Kurumalai Tribal Basti, who was under interrogation in an alleged case of wildlife crime, ended his life in the Udmapalpet Forest Range Office toilet in Tiruppur district on Thursday morning.
The incident laid allegations of “Custodial Death” by his Mudhwar tribal community.
A day after Marimuthu, which was booked in a ganja case with his relatives during 2022, was acquitted by a crime by Udumalpet court, completing legal formalities on Wednesday and returning to his house near Maryur in Idukki district in Kerala, which was returned to his house. midnight.
Forest department sources brought back Marimuthu for questioning in connection with a wildlife crime.
Based on the information provided by the forest department officials to the Udumalpet police, Marimuthu had sought permission to reduce himself in the initial hours and ended his life in the toilet.
However, death has speculated that he was murdered by forest personnel and presented as suicide.
“Marimuthu was a gritty person; it is the case of Custodial Death,” G. Selvan, State Joint Secretary, Tamil Nadu Tribal Association, accused the police in a complaint.
In a representation of an inspector of Udumalpet police station, the victim’s wife Pandium (40) reiterated that her husband was a courageous man and suspected that she was murdered by forest department personnel in “illegal” custody.
The post -mortem should be held in Camera in the presence of senior government officials, Pandiumal stressed. Udumalpet Police registered a case under Section 196 of BNNS, 2023, in which custodial deals with death.
A senior police officer said in the hours of the evening that further investigation was going on.
A case should be registered under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, and CB CID Police, G. Thanraj, the tribal rights activist was taken for thorough investigation.
Published – 01 August, 2025 04:35 AM IST