AIADMK General Secretary and Leader of the Opposition, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, has strongly criticized Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and the DMK government following yet another suspected custodial death in Chennai, the case of Naveen Bollineni, a manager at Thirumala Milk Products Pvt. Ltd., who allegedly died by suicide after having interrogated by police without registering a case.
Palaniswami questioned how a Chief Minister, who struggles to effectively manage the police force, could justify such an incident especially when it occurred within the jurisdiction of his own constituency.
He demanded an impartial and transparent probe into Naveen’s death, which has raised numerous concerns. Naveen was reportedly interrogated by police without any formal case being filed, based solely on an internal company complaint accusing him of embezzling ₹45 crore. Following this, he was found hanging under suspicious circumstances.
Significantly, reports indicate that there was no chair in the hut where Naveen was discovered, and that his hands were tied behind his back raising serious doubts about the possibility of suicide.
Palaniswami asked a fundamental question, On what grounds did the police initiate an investigation without registering a case? He also noted that the inquiry was allegedly led by the Deputy Commissioner of Kolathur, adding to the gravity of the situation. Referencing the recent and still-unsettled case of Ajith Kumar’s death, Palaniswami warned that public confidence in the state’s law enforcement is rapidly deteriorating. He questioned how many more suspicious deaths would occur before the DMK government is held accountable.
Edappadi Palaniswami via his official X account stated, “News reports indicate that Naveen Polineni, who was working as a manager at Thirumala Milk in Chennai, was found dead by hanging under mysterious circumstances and this occurred after he was reportedly investigated based on a complaint for allegedly embezzling 45 crore rupees from the company without a First Information Report (FIR) being filed. News reports are coming in regarding Naveen’s death that there was no chair found in the hut where he was hanging, and his hands were reportedly tied behind his back. How someone with bound hands could hang without a chair? A fundamental question arising from this case is – On what legal basis did the police conduct an investigation without registering an FIR? Furthermore, it’s reported that the Kolathur Deputy Commissioner directly investigated this case. The death of Ajith Kumar has not even begun to fade, and yet another death has raises suspicions. What answer @mkstalin has for police investigations becoming increasingly suspicious?
Did Stalin, or his DMK government, demonstrate even once the same dedication to answering questions regarding law and order as they did to fabricating and diverting a question I posed about financial management? What explanation will the puppet Chief Minister, who doesn’t know how to administer the police force, give for this incident that has occurred in the police circle encompassing his own constituency? I urge the Stalin Model DMK government to conduct a fair investigation into Naveen’s mysterious death without any interference; particularly, a thorough inquiry must be conducted into the police investigating without filing an FIR, and appropriate legal action must be taken.”
சென்னை "திருமலா" பால் நிறுவனத்தில் மேலாளராக பணிபுரிந்து வந்த நவீன் பொலினேனி என்பவர், 45 கோடி ரூபாய் நிறுவனப் பணத்தை கையாடல் செய்ததாக ஏற்பட்ட புகாரின் அடிப்படையில், வழக்கு பதியாமல் அவர் விசாரிக்கப்பட்டதாகவும், அதன் பின்னர் அவர் மர்மமான முறையில் தூக்கிட்டு இறந்ததாகவும் செய்திகள்…
— Edappadi K Palaniswami-SayYEStoWomenSafety&AIADMK (@EPSTamilNadu) July 11, 2025
This criticism surfaces in the wake of the death of 38-year-old Naveen Bollineni, a chartered accountant from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Employed as a treasury manager at LACTALIS India, which owns Thirumala Milk, Naveen was found dead on 9 July in a hut on a vacant property he owned in Puzhal, Chennai. He had been accused of siphoning off ₹40 crore from the company’s funds.
According to police, Naveen had emailed a note to his sister and company officials before his death, where he reportedly admitted to the financial fraud but also claimed that two senior company officials threatened to jail him even if he repaid the money. This message, police say, made no mention of any police misconduct.
The Greater Chennai Police issued a statement confirming that Naveen died by suicide and noted that he had not been formally interrogated or summoned by the police. Although a complaint was filed by the company on 24 and 25 June with the Central Crime Branch and the Kolathur DCP respectively, an FIR had not been registered. Police said Naveen had already repaid ₹5 crore and had requested that the company not escalate the issue legally.
Amid rising public scrutiny and social media allegations linking DCP Pandiarajan to Naveen’s death, West Zone Joint Commissioner Disha Mittal has been tasked with investigating the case and submitting a detailed report.
Police maintained that the ongoing investigation by the firm’s auditors had uncovered irregularities amounting to ₹40 crore, and that Naveen had acknowledged the fraud and sought anticipatory bail, the hearing for which had been postponed twice.
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