A 45-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil, who was picked up in connection with a fake passport case, allegedly died in police custody in Pallikaranai in the early hours of Friday, The Hindu reported.

Mohan Kandhaiya (45), sources said, was picked up by police team from Pallikaranai soon after he reached his home in Medavakkam on Thursday night. During questioning at the police station, Mohan lost consciousness.

He was taken to a private hospital nearby, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival, police sources said.

According to doctors, the death was due to “cardiac pulmonary arrest” and that the victim was suffering from diabetic mellitus. However, The New Indian Express reported that the relatives of the deceased were raising questions on the death of the victim.

A Judicial Magistrate enquiry has been ordered and a case of suspicious death has been registered. The body was sent to Government Royapettah Hospital for post-mortem.

Hailing from Thalaimannar, Mohan settled down in the city and was living in Medavakkam with his wife Fatima Sulthana and their two children. Tamil Nadu Police said he was allegedly involved in a fake passport racket, working as an agent on commission basis. He was wanted in cases investigated by Central Crime Branch of the city police. Police sources said the accused was arrested in the past for his alleged links with Shankarlal, a ring leader in fake passports. Three fake passports and more than 20 visa papers of different countries were recovered from his house, police added.

(With inputs from Indian media)