Kottayam: A 35-year-old man, who was arrested in Ernakulam district in connection with a financial fraud, died on Wednesday while undergoing treatment at the Medical College Hospital in Kottayam.
Shafique Thaiparambil, hailing from Kanjirappally in Kottayam district, was remanded to judicial custody after he was arrested on Monday for allegedly cheating an elderly woman in Udayamperoor in Ernakulam district.
While his relatives voiced suspicion over his death in judicial custody, jail authorities in Ernakulam said he was admitted to the General Hospital, Ernakulam, on Tuesday after he suffered an attack of epilepsy at the facility.
Doctors referred him to Kottayam Medical College on Wednesday morning after his condition worsened, they said.
Preliminary diagnosis revealed that there was a blood clot in his brain. Neurosurgeon Dr P K Balakrishnan said the blood clot may have happened because of an injury to the head. He said the clot does not appear to be because of a haemorrhage and it could have developed due to a fall or the head hitting a hard surface.
His body has been shifted to the mortuary for post-mortem, the police said.
Victim of police torture?
Claiming that Shafique was healthy when he was taken into custody from his residence, his relatives alleged that he died due to police torture.
"There was a big wound on the back of his head which happened because of police torture," Shafique's father Mohammad Ismail alleged.
Relatives also alleged that the police did not inform them about his health condition when he was admitted to the general hospital at Ernakulam. They claimed that the police telephoned them only after his condition worsened while being treated at the government medical college hospital here.
Shafique is survived by wife Zarina and children Saina and Sana.
