HC slams TN on custodial death; CBI will probe case

THe Madras heights margaret court on tues pulled up the Tamil Nadu regime o'er the alleged custodial death of a security guard in Sivaganga district, even as chief minister MK Stalin issued an apology to the victim’s family and ordered transferring the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).The Madurai bench of the high court comprising justices SM Subramaniam and AD Maria Clete said the action taken so far by the state government was not commensurate with the gravity of the incident.“We want to access your fairness by seeing what action is taken against the senior officials,” the bench said as it appointed Madurai 4th additional sessions judge John Sunderlal Suresh as the enquiry officer to look into the case and submit a report on July 8. The court also allowed the case to be probed by the CB-CID to whom the case was transferred on Monday.The development came days after Ajith Kumar (29), a security guard at the Madapuram Bhadrakali Amman temple in Madapuram area of the district, died on June 29 when he was allegedly being questioned by cops in connection with a theft case.The court was hearing a batch of PILs filed by people residing in Kumar’s village. “The State has conceded the custodial death in the present case,” Justice Subramanian said in his order. “A plain reading of the nature of the injuries inflicted on the body of the deceased would reveal that he was brutally attacked all over the body. Even an ordinary murderer would not have caused this much of injuries to a person is the view of this court,” the order said.Officials said that Kumar was taken into custody by police on June 27 after a woman filed a complaint alleging that a bag containing 10 sovereigns of gold jewellery went missing from her car. The complainant also alleged that the bag went missing after she gave the car keys to Kumar to park the vehicle near the temple.Kumar’s brother Naveen alleged that police beat up the victim as they transported him to different places under the guise of a probe. On June 29, Kumar was taken to the hospital after complaining of discomfort and died during treatment.A video purportedly of Kumar being assaulted was submitted in the court on Tuesday. The 31-second video, which was widely circulated on social media, purportedly showed Kumar kneeling on the floor and being beaten with a stick by a police officer in plainclothes.HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.Human rights activist and lawyer Henri Tiphange, representing the victim’s family, told the court that the video was recorded at the temple premises by a staffer. “The staffer was scared, but, he didn’t want to be silent when something wrong was happening so he recorded the video and submitted it to the prosecution and this was submitted to court as evidence today,” Tiphange told reporters.The state informed the court that five police officers have been suspended in connection with the incident. The officers — S Raja, A Anand, S Sankaramanikandan, G Praphu and G Kannan –– were arrested on Monday after authorities received the post-mortem examination report. A senior police officer, on the condition of anonymity, said the victim sustained multiple injuries, including contusion to his head and chest.The state government also told the court that senior officials were transferred in the aftermath of the incident. Hours before the hearing, Sivaganga superintendent of police (SP) Ashish Rawat was placed on compulsory wait and Manamadurai DSP Shanmugasundaram was dismissed on Tuesday.The case triggered a political row, with the opposition AIADMK demanding a CBI probe and criticising the ruling DMK over the incident. “People have no faith in the fake police FIR. Therefore, this case should be transferred to the CBI,” AIADMK chief and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Edappadi K Palaniswami said.BJP state unit president Nainar Nagendran wrote to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking an inquiry into the case as well as similar incidents in Tamil Nadu.CM Stalin said Ajith Kumar’s death was “an unjustifiable mistake” as he apologised to the victim’s family during a telephonic conversation.“I am very sorry, have asked action to be taken, serious action. Stay strong,” Stalin told Kumar’s mother during the call, a video of which was shared by the CM in a post on X.“The cruelty faced by the Tiruppuvanam (in Sivaganga) youth should not happen to anyone; it’s an unjustifiable mistake. This government will ensure punishment for those who have failed to do their duty (policemen), will stand by the family,” the DMK chief added.“The Madras High Court Madurai bench has allowed the CB-CID probe into the matter. However, with five policemen facing allegations, to ensure there are no apprehensions over the probe, I have directed transferring the investigation into the matter to CBI,” Stalin said.