Relatives trespass into Coimbatore hospital mortuary, take out man’s body and hold road blockade protest with it

COIMBATORE: Relatives of a deceased 29-year-old man staged a road blockade in front of ESI Government Medical College Hospital in Singanallur, alleging that the Sulur police had wrongly registered a suicide case instead of a suspected murder case. The deceased, identified as Mahamaheswaran, 29, of Sivaganga, was residing in Sulur in Coimbatore district with his mother. He was a labourer. According to sources, Mahamaheswaran was an alcoholic. On May 6 night, he reportedly went to an isolated vacant place with friends to consume alcohol. On Thursday evening, his relatives were informed that he had been found hanging from a tree on private property. The Sulur police initiated an inquiry and moved the body to ESI Hospital for postmortem. Following this, relatives of the deceased got into an altercation with doctors, trespassed into the mortuary and took the body out. They placed the body on a stretcher on the Singanallur Road and staged a road blockade. Alerted by the incident, Singanallur police reached the spot and brought the situation under control. The relatives alleged that visible injuries were found on the deceased’s body and so they suspected that it was a case of murder. When asked about the allegations and the protest, the Sulur police maintained a brief stance, stating that there were no further issues and that the body had been handed over to the relatives following the postmortem. The final cause of death remains pending the results of the medical examination. Based on a complaint filed by the hospital authorities, the Singanallur police registered a case against the relatives of the deceased for entering the mortuary and taking control of the body.