P Ramkumar(26), the accused in the Chennai techie murder case allegedly committed suicide inside Puzhal central prison around 4.45pm on Sunday according to reports. Ram Kumar is said to have pulled out a live cable from a switch board in the dispensary block of the prison and bitten it to kill himself at around 4.30 pm., prison sources claimed. He was rushed to Royapettah Government Hospital where he was declared brought dead. Ram Kumar's lawyer SP Ramaraj, however, alleged foul play. "It's a murder in jail. Nowhere in a jail would there be a power supply strong enough to kill a person. We would ask for an open postmortem," said the lawyer claiming Ram Kumar did not show any suicidal tendency when he met him a day before in the jail.

A mechanical engineer by profession, Ramkumar hacked to death Infosys employee Swathi (24) at Nungambakkam railway station in the early morning hours of June 24. He alleged that she had ridiculed his looks in front of several people when he proposed his love to her more than once. He was arrested from his house in Meenakshipuram village in Tirunelveli district on July 1. At that time he allegedly attempted suicide by slitting his neck with a knife. However his advocate Ramraj claimed that it was the police who stabbed him. As per law, the prison officials will now have to file a complaint in the local police station on the death and the case will be referred to a judicial magistrate. The autopsy will be conducted in the presence of the judicial magistrate and is expected to take place on Monday.