A 40-year-old woman named P Thilagavathy died in police custody after she was arrested by the Alandurai police in Coimbatore on Monday, October 9, in a kidnapping case of an 18-month-old baby. The baby went missing from Tiruchendur, a pilgrimage site in Thoothukudi district on October 5. 

When the baby’s parents, Muthuraj and Rathi from Kanniyakumari district, approached the Tiruchendur police, their investigation uncovered CCTV footage of Thilagavathy carrying the baby. Thilagavathy and her husband Pandiyan were arrested from Coimbatore by the Alandurai police. They reportedly confessed to having abducted the baby and shared his location, following which the police rescued him. Thilagavathy meanwhile fainted while being interrogated, and was rushed to a hospital where she was declared brought dead, India Today reported. 

The missing case of the baby was investigated by Tiruchendur police under the supervision of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Vasanth Raj. They managed to identify the accused – Thilagavathy and Pandiyan – through CCTV footage. They traced their mobile tower location to Coimbatore, and alerted the Coimbatore district police. 

On Monday, police personnel from Alandurai police station went to Kulatheri village in Muttathuvayal of Poondi, arrested the couple, and informed the Tiruchendur police. According to The Hindu, the police team interrogated them about the baby’s whereabouts. The couple reportedly confessed and shared the location of the toddler, who was then rescued by Salem police. Thilagavathy was from Pethanaickenpalayam in Salem district

Police reportedly said that Thilagavathy fainted at the station during interrogation, and was rushed to a Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in Pooluvapatti. However, she was declared dead on arrival. Her mortal remains were sent to Government Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for postmortem, which is expected to be conducted on October 10.     

Police registered a case under Section 176(1)(a) (inquiry by magistrate into death in police custody) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Footage from all surveillance cameras at the police station were secured by higher officials and will be produced before the magistrate concerned for inquiry.