English Typing
Paragraph
The
alleged
suicide
of
murder
suspect
P.
Ramkumar
in
the
high-security
Puzhal
Central
Prison
in
Chennai
has
given
rise
to
many
questions
and
doubts.
The
claim
that
Ramkumar,
the
alleged
lone
assailant
who
stalked
and
killed
young
Swathi,
took
his
own
life
by
biting
a
live
wire
pulled
out
from
a
switchboard
inside
the
prison
is
unusual.
His
lawyer
alleges
he
was
murdered.
Even
without
questioning
the
suicide
theory,
it
is
clear
that
the
prison
administration
has
much
to
answer
for.
Ramkumar
had
suicidal
tendencies,
going
by
the
police
claim
that
he
tried
to
slash
his
own
throat
when
he
was
about
to
be
arrested.
Prison
authorities
say
he
was
indeed
under
continuous
watch
by
warders,
and
that
he
had
been
given
psychological
counselling.
More
ought
to
have
been
done
to
prevent
the
incident,
as
the
case
had
become
unusually
sensitive,
with
the
public
debate
assuming
strong
caste
and
communal
overtones.
It
is
surprising
that
the
closely
watched
suspect
had
easy
access,
at
a
moment
when
he
was
conveniently
alone,
to
a
switchboard
near
the
prison
dispensary.
It
also
so
happened
that
the
CCTV
cameras
installed
in
the
modern
prison
did
not
cover
that
particular
area
where
he
chose
to
end
his
life.
If
he
did
commit
suicide,
there
has
been
undoubted
lapse
in
monitoring
his
movements.
Prison
suicides
set
off
questions
about
the
conditions
of
incarceration
in
our
jails,
often
seen
as
overcrowded
and
understaffed.
Suicide
by
electrocution
is
rare,
as
it
is
not
difficult
to
deny
prisoners
any
form
of
access
to
live
electrical
cables.
There
is
truth
in
the
theory
that
it
is
difficult
to
prevent
a
person
determined
to
commit
suicide,
even
if
some
correctional
psychologists
disagree.
There
ought
to
be
an
initial
evaluation
of
incoming
prisoners
to
identify
those
with
a
high
risk
of
suicide.
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