Death in custody – K Letchumanan (Raub police station lock-up; 18 Dec 2007)
Monday, 19 December 2011 10:19am
Four years ago, on 18 Dec 2007, 30-year old palm oil worker K Letchumanan reportedly died in police custody at the Raub police station, four days after he had been arrested.
According to a news report, police contended that the father of six children hanged himself with a blanket in his cell. K Letchumanan’s family members claimed the police did not inform them of his arrest and only informed them about his death. His sister, Sarasvathy Thevi, lodged a police report and requested the state police chief to investigate this matter.
Despite the requirement that all custodial deaths be investigated by inquiries conducted pursuant to Chapter XXXII of the Criminal Procedure Code, it does not appear that an inquest has been conducted into K Letchumanan’s death.
Every death in custody must be thoroughly and impartially investigated. K Letchumanan’s death must not be relegated to a mere statistic.
Based on the statistics disclosed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 156 persons died in police custody from the year 2000 until February 2011.
We express our heartfelt condolences to K Letchumanan’s family and friends on the anniversary of his death.
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