Row after accused in ‘NCC camp’ rape case dies by suicide
The prime suspect in the rape of a 14-year-old school girl and sexual harassment of a dozen others at a fake National Cadet Corps (NCC) camp in Bargur in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu died allegedly by suicide on Friday, police said.
The 31-year-old accused, identified as Sivaraman, had reportedly consumed a poisonous substance ahead of his arrest on August 19, a senior police officer said.
He is survived by wife and a three-year-old daughter. On Thursday, Sivaraman’s father Ashok Kumar died in a road accident when he was riding a two-wheeler allegedly in an inebriated condition.
Krishnagiri’s superintendent of police, P Thangadurai, said the 31-year-old accused was evading arrest by hiding at a location in Coimbatore ever since the rape survivor filed a complaint with the police, and he was arrested on Monday (August 19) following a tip-off.
“He had sustained fractures on one of his legs, reportedly from a fall while attempting to escape from the police net. As a result, he was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Krishnagiri. When doctors questioned him over his blood test report, he confessed to having consumed a poisonous substance fearing his arrest,” he said.
He further said that the accused as shifted to the better-equipped Salem Medical College Hospital on Wednesday night as he required dialysis to recover. “However, his health situation worsened late on Thursday night, and he died by Friday morning at around 5.30am,” he said.
Police have arrested 11 other suspects, including the school authorities, for helping Sivaraman organise the fake NCC camp without verifying his credentials and prompting students to take part in it, the SP said.
Deputy director general of the Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Andamans NCC directorate, Commodore S Raghav, confirmed that no official NCC camp conducted at the Krishnagiri private school.
The police said that a teacher of the same school for over four years, one of the accused, was facing charges for organising similar fake NCC camps at schools in other parts of the district, presumably to harass the participating girls sexually.