Tribal man’s death in Udumalpet: Judicial inquiry begins

COIMBATORE: A judicial inquiry began on Friday into the suspicious death of a 58-year-old tribal man at the Udumalpet forest range office in Tirupur district on Thursday.

P Marimuthu of Melgurumalai near Udumalpet was found dead in the office toilet after being detained by forest officers.

According to the forest department, Marimuthu was apprehended at the Chinnar forest check post while he was travelling from Udumalpet to Munnar as officers discovered a leopard’s tooth in his possession. During initial questioning, Marimuthu, who runs a grocery shop at Munnar, allegedly admitted to purchasing the tooth from someone named Sankar. Forest officers said he later hanged himself inside a toilet using his lungi.

However, the victim’s family has contested this version, alleging that Marimuthu had been beaten to death during interrogations and that officials were attempting to cover up the incident by portraying it as a suicide. His daughter filed a complaint with the Udumalpet police, who registered it as a custodial death case.

Judicial magistrate T Nithyakala visited the forest range office on Thursday night to interrogate both forest officers and family members. On Friday morning, she inspected Marimuthu’s body at the Tirupur Government Hospital mortuary. Wounds were observed on the body. The magistrate demanded a detailed report explaining the wounds and the exact cause of his death, sources said.