Tamil Nadu health minister's friend dies mysteriously

Salem: In another shocking development, KR Subramaniam, 58, a building contractor and friend of State Health minister C Vijayabaskar was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Monday; exactly a month after Income Tax (I-T) sleuths had raided his house in Namakkal district.

According to police Subramaniam from Teachers Colony was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his farm near Mohanur this morning.  

“The exact reason for his death will be known only on receiving the post-mortem report. At the farm, he had swooned and died. Further investigations are on,” police said.

The I-T sleuths had raided the house of Subramaniam on April 7, when simultaneous raids were conducted in several premises of the Health minister, besides houses and offices of those associated with him across Tamil Nadu.
As Subramaniam had gone abroad, on the day of raid, the I-T department served a notice to his family members to produce himself before the I-T office in Chennai on his return. Following this, Subramaniam had appeared for an enquiry on April 4.

Since then, Subramaniam was found depressed as the I-T sleuths had sealed his office and also freezed his bank accounts. “He is not a coward to commit suicide, but was depressed over the unfortunate developments,” said his friends, preferring anonymity.

Subramaniam is understood to have bagged contracts for building several government hospitals and medical colleges across the state due to his close association with the Health minister. In one of the recent contracts, he took over the construction of building works for a government medical college in Pudukkottai. Subramaniam is survived by his wife, Shanthi, 52, daughter Abinaya, 30, who is married to one Aravind, and son Sabari, 24. Both his son and son-in law take care of his construction projects. A post-mortem at the Namakkal Government hospital has revealed the presence of poison in the stomach of contractor KR Subramaniam.

As there were traces of poison in the stomach, police now suspect it to be a case of suicide. A soft drinks bottle was also taken from the spot, where Subramaniam was found dead. Following the post-mortem, the body of Subramaniam was handed over to his family members and was cremated at the electric crematorium in Namakkal. The police have registered a case of suicide and further investigations are on.