The investigation into the death of 26-year-old Dinesh Kumar after a police inquiry at Kannagi Nagar police station on Tuesday, December 20, has been handed over to the CB-CID. There is also a parallel Magistrate probe into the case as it was registered under Section 176(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (when any person dies under police custody, the nearest Magistrate can inquire into the cause of the death as well). 

Dinesh Kumar was picked up by the police on Tuesday for stealing a mobile phone near Thoraipakkam. The deceased person’s family members have alleged police torture as the reason for his death. The police released Dinesh from custody on Tuesday and close to midnight, he was taken to the Stanley Medical College Hospital after he had fainted. However, the hospital pronounced that he was dead on arrival.

While media reports said that Dinesh did not have external injuries after the investigation, his wife Kowsalya told TNM that the police had hit him right before her. She added that Dinesh was limping when he left the police station. The police claim that Dinesh had nearly ten pending cases against him, including theft and murder, and that he could have engaged in a quarrel with someone after his visit to the police station.

Police claimed that Dinesh and his friend Ramachandran stole a mobile phone from a man named Stephan while travelling on a bus. While Ramachandran managed to escape with the phone, Stephan and the commuters caught Dinesh and handed him over to the police. The police had instructed Kowsalya to get the phone from Ramachandran and hand it over at the police station. After Kowsalya brought the phone, Dinesh was let off with a warning. However, he had to be taken to a nearby hospital for assistance because he was very weak.