The Sooramangalam police have registered a case against the relatives of Balasubramania Kumar for negligence.
Balasubramania Kumar, a 74-year-old resident of Kandhampatti in the Salem district of Tamil Nadu, who was presumed dead by family members, was put in a freezer box overnight. However, the 74-year-old man was rescued by police on Tuesday night after the company, which provides the freezer boxes, realized that Balasubramania was breathing and alerted officials. The strange incident took place on the night of October 12 when Balasubramania’s brother Saravanan “presumed” that he was dead and requested a freezer box to place his brother’s body.
It was the next night, October 13, that staff from the freezer company came to collect the box and discovered, to their surprise, that the man inside was very much alive. Balasubramania was rescued by the men and his neighbors, who then rushed him to the Mohan Kumaramangalam Government Medical College Hospital in Salem, where he is currently undergoing treatment.
A video report on a Tamil news channel shows Balasubramania’s body convulsing inside the freezer box. In the video, Saravanan can be heard making shocking statements. He is heard saying that his brother was dead, even when the man behind the camera tells him that Balasubramania’s hand is shaking inside the box. “His hands are shaking, how?” asks the person behind the camera. “Oh, it’s fits (seizures),” Saravanan says casually. “How can it be possible if he’s dead?” the person asks, to which Saravanan gropes and replies, “His soul hasn’t left him yet.”
The Sooramangalam police, who arrived at Balasubramania Kumar’s home, questioned the relatives. Speaking to TNM, Sooramangalam Deputy Inspector Rajasekaran said: “Relatives had asked for the freezer box saying that Balasubramania Kumar had died. It was only the next night, when people from the freezer company came to pick him up between 7 and 8 p.m., they found out that the man inside was still alive. We are trying to establish what happened. Surely it couldn’t have been in the freezer box the entire time the box was in the house. “
The police have registered a case under section 287 (negligent conduct to endanger human life) and 336 (act that endangers the life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against members of the Balasubramania family.
See Balasubramania’s brother speaking to reporters:
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