However, Ramkumar was caught in his hometown Meenakshipuram in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu on July 1st. The accused tried to commit suicide then but was saved by the police who rushed him to the hospital. Ramkumar had been lodged in the Puzhal prison since his recovery. Many political parties had taken his side claiming that the police have wrongly convicted him because he is a dalit. On 18th September, Ramkumar was brought to the Royapettah government hospital from Puzhal where he was declared dead on arrival. Police say, Ramkumar committed suicide by biting on a live wire to end his life. Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu have asked for a magisterial probe into the matter. This version of the Chennai police has raised many questions relating to his mysterious death. Also, what happens to the on going investigation of the Swathi murder case?
With Ramkumar dead and police squarely accusing only Ramkumar in the case, where does this leave the on going trial of Swathi murder case?
Ramkumar did not have a full opportunity yet to defend himself in court. How can we believe the police version of events? What if Ramkumar was not the killer, but just a hired assassin?
How did Ramkumar manage to pull a live wire from the switchboard in his prison cell? Did he have any knife or weapon hidden with him?
Why did they take Ramkumar to the Royapettah hospital instead of rushing him first to any private hospital nearby? After all, the distance between Puzhal prison and Royapettah hospital is nearly 20 kilometers!
According to the NHRC, a suicide prevention program should have been in place at the Puzhal. Was Ramkumar part of such a program? Was he given efficient counselling after his arrest?