Madras HC directs police to proceed in suicide case

The Madras High Court today directed police to proceed further with its probe on the death of a Dalit youth in Theni district after it submitted that forensic examination of the suicide note confirmed that it was his handwriting.
Justice M Sathayanarayanan of the bench here directed the DSP and Thenkarai Inspector to file their report in a sealed cover on March 26 after completing the investigation.
A case had been filed against O Raja, brother of Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, and four others, in connection with the suicide.
S Nagamuthu, father of the deceased, had sought CBI probe into the suicide in December 2012, when Panneeselvam was finance minister. He feared that local police would not properly investigate the case as the charge of abetment had been levelled against Raja and four others.

However, the government advocate said the case was going in the right direction and the forensic report had been received.
According to the complainant, the five persons had prevented the youth from serving as a temple priest and humiliated him by making casteist remarks forcing him to take the extreme step.
The five persons had obtained anticipatory bail in 2012 on the ground that three of them belong to scheduled caste and, therefore, could not have humiliated the deceased as alleged. They also filed a petition for quashing the FIR and obtained an interim stay on the proceedings in the lower court.