Death, clash, suicide attempt rock Tamil Nadu jail all in just one day

CHENNAI: A death, a violent attack between prisoners and a suicide bid rocked the state jail department on Monday. A 72-year-old man, arrested by Chengalpet police under the Pocso Act, died of mental stress and diabetic ailments at the Govt Stanley Hospital.
The deceased man, Mannagkatti alias Rajamanickam, 72, a resident of Pondhur village in Chengalpet, was arrested 10 years ago for allegedly raping a juvenile girl. While the case trial is still in progress, he remained detained in Puzhal prison.
Of late, he complained of diabetic problems and was taking medicines for mental depression from the prison hospital.
After the prison doctors examined him on March 9, they advised the officials to admit him to the Govt Stanley Hospital, where he succumbed on Monday.
In another incident, foreign nationals clashed among themselves, leaving a South African national injured at the Special Prison for Women (SPW) in Puzhal.
There are about 200 women prisoners detained in the SPW prison. Most of the foreign prisoners, who were arrested for smuggling drugs and psychotropic substances from abroad, are kept in separate dormitories.
The verbal duel between a Nigerian woman, Nwafor Onyine Monica, and a South African national, Fredline Bethmere April, led to a fisticuff.
Bethmere April suffered injuries in the attack and she was treated by the prison doctors. Based on the complaint from the prison staff, Puzhal inspector of police Rajinikanth registered a case against the Nigerian prisoner.
Meanwhile, a 28-year-old remand prisoner, who was arrested by the Elephant Gate police in a theft case, consumed nails and attempted to end his life allegedly because none of his family members came to meet him in jail. After the prison inmates informed the prison staff, they rushed the suspect, Ajithkumar, to the prison hospital, and later he was admitted to the Govt Stanley Hospital.
Puzhal police said the doctors washed out the iron nails from Ajithkumar's stomach and his condition is stable now. Elephant Gate police arrested Ajithkumar on March 3 in connection with a theft case reported there in Feb.
Ajithkumar, who was detained at the remand prisoners block in Puzhal Prison – II, managed to collect the nails from the ground, hid them in his prison cell, and consumed them on Monday. Puzhal inspector Rajinikanth has registered a case and further investigation is underway.