Man taken into custody found dead in police station washroom

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 17 (PTI): A 37-year-old man, taken into custody by the police in connection with a theft case, was later found dead in the washroom of the police station here. There were two others in the centre who had come to the station in another case, he said. Ansari borrowed a cigarette from one of them and went to the bathroom in the station and did not come out.

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 17 (PTI): A 37-year-old man, taken into custody by the police in connection with a theft case, was later found dead in the washroom of the police station here. Ansari of Poonthura was taken into custody on Sunday evening after being apprehended by locals when he tried to snatch a mobile phone,police said.

"Locals handed him over to the police. He was kept in a COVID-19 detention centre at the station," an assistant commissioner told PTI. There were two others in the centre who had come to the station in another case, he said.

Ansari borrowed a cigarette from one of them and went to the bathroom in the station and did not come out. On suspicion, the policemen broke open the door of the toilet and found him hanging by his dhoti, the official said.

The district crime branch would probe into the matter, a senior police official of the district said. The two other people, who were in the police station, told the media that Ansari had borrowed a cigarettefrom them and gone to the bathroom.

Ansari was a history-sheeterand was earlier involved in theft and othercrimes, the police said. PTI RRT UD NVG NVG