THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 45-year-old undertrial died at the taluk hospital in Neyyattinkara. The police identified him as Thankamani, a resident of Chenkal near Parassala.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Neyyattinkara, P Gopakumar said the Parassala police had arrested the accused on Thursday night. He said that Thankamani, a self-styled fortune-teller, had cheated lakhs of rupees from many persons in the locality by promising to find them buried treasures. Some of them had filed cheating complaints against him. Thankamani was produced before a local magistrate at 5 pm on Friday and remanded in judicial custody. At around 9.15 pm, Thankamani complained of chest pain and was rushed to the hospital where he died.

Forensic doctors autopsied the body and concluded, preliminarily, that Thankamani had died of heart attack. The procedure was video-graphed and conducted in the presence of the Revenue Divisional Officer and local tahsildar. Gopakumar said the police did not torture Thankamani in custody.