Ilavarasan: Madras HC to decide on 2nd autopsy today

Chennai, July 9: The Madras High Court on Tuesday will decide whether a second autopsy should be ordered on Ilavarasan, a Dalit man who was found dead under mysterious conditions near a railway track in Dharmapuri in western Tamil Nadu last week. Two judges of the court will watch the video of the first post-mortem of the deceased before taking the call.

[See: Why outsiders in mortuary during autopsy?]

The man's family sensed foul play in Illavarasan's death although the police said he had committed suicide. The first post-mortem report said that Ilavarasan, 21, had died of a head injury.

Ilavarasan had married Divya, a girl from the Vanniyar community last year and weeks after they had eloped, the girl's father had committed suicide.

The state government on Monday asked for a probe into the case by a one-man panel. The panel is headed by retired judge Justice S R Singaravelu.

Ilavarasan's death was not just a family tragedy. After he died, around 200 huts of the Dalits in and around Dharmapuri were set ablaze. Parties having a strong Dalit votebank blamed the Vanniyars for the riots and also accused the PMK, headed by S Ramadoss, of backing the arson.

Ilavarsan's mother also alleged that the PMK had a role behind his death, a charge which the latter has denied.

OneIndia News