Man allegedly beaten to death by Coimbatore hospital staff, 8 arrested

Chennai: A senior Vice President of Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH), Coimbatore along with seven staffers have been arrested for allegedly thrashing a man to death on suspicion that he stole metal pipes from the hospital. 

The deceased, identified as Raja was allegedly beaten by the hospital staff on Monday. Following the beating he fell unconscious and died.

Following the death of the man, his family members and relatives protested outside the hospital prompting the police to take action against the hospital staff. However, the vice president emerged in the case following allegations from family members that the employees acted with the connivance of the top management.

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According to the police, Raja from Gandhi Maa Nagar in Coimbatore used to steal pipes from the hospital posing as a plumber after frequenting the hospital regularly. After the shortage of plumbing material including pipes became regular, the staff checked the CCTV visuals and found that Raja was stealing the pipes.

When he came to the hospital on Monday, the staff allegedly thrashed him mercilessly leading to his death. The Vice President of the hospital, R Narayanan, filed a complaint with the Peelumedu police in Coimbatore stating that a person Raja was caught stealing pipes from the hospital and when questioned he complained of chest pain and died in the emergency unit of the hospital, news agency IANS reported.

However, Raja's wife filed a complaint with the police stating that her husband was beaten to death by the staff of the KMCH hospital with the connivance of the top management.

The family earlier refused to accept the mortal remains of Raja from the Coimbatore Government Medical College Hospital where it was kept after postmortem. But with the intervention of the police assuring action against the attackers, the family accepted his body.

The police on Wednesday after a preliminary investigation arrested the vice President of the KMCH hospital and seven other staff members under Sections 302 (murder), 342 ( wrongful confinement ), 323 ( voluntarily causing hurt), 201 ( causing disappearance of evidence or giving false information), and 147 ( rioting) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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