Chennai: Five police officers in Tamil Nadu have been arrested in connection with the alleged custodial death of a 27-year-old temple security guard detained in a case of theft.
It is alleged that the victim, B. Ajith Kumar, collapsed and died Saturday after being tortured by cops during an investigation in the Sivaganga district. However, a First Information Report (FIR) filed in the case, seen by ThePrint, said the victim suffered an epileptic fit during an attempt to escape from police.
Kannan and Prabhu, head constables, along with constables Raja, Anand and Sankaramanikandan, were arrested late Monday in the case. They were charged under Section 196(2)(a) (magistrate investigation into the death of a person under police custody) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
An official with the Sivaganga Police told ThePrint that the arrest was made based on a preliminary autopsy report.
Sources privy to the preliminary autopsy report told ThePrint that he had suffered at least 40 contusions and had bruising on his backside and legs.
“There were no fractures, but there were injuries,” the source said. The report has not been released yet, and no official cause of death has been made public.
The official from Sivaganga Police quoted above also said that, after the final autopsy report, the police may alter the FIR into a case of murder.
Separately, in two separate orders Tuesday, Director General of Police (DGP) Shankar Jiwal transferred the case to Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation and Sivaganga District Superintendent of Police Ashish Rawat was placed on compulsory wait.
According to the FIR, Ajith Kumar, a security guard at the Madapuram Bathrakaliamman Temple in Sivaganga, was taken into police custody at 9:30 pm on 27 June to be interrogated in relation to the theft of some gold and money from a temple devotee.
He was rushed to the hospital on the evening of 28 June after he allegedly suffered a fit while escaping from the police. On 28 June, around 11:30 pm, he was declared dead at
Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai.
The body was handed over to his family after an autopsy.
Speaking to ThePrint, his brother, Naveen, alleged Ajith Kumar was tortured by police to make him confess to the theft.
“You can see the CCTV footage, where it shows that he walks off inside the police station for inquiry without anybody’s help, but was taken out of the station with the help of two policemen. He was bleeding in all the places,” Naveen said. ThePrint has not independently verified the CCTV footage.
Naveen also claimed that he was also tortured by the police in front of his brother to put pressure on Ajith Kumar to confess
“‘Only if your brother witnesses your suffering, will he confess to the crime’, one of the policemen told me while beating me with lathis,” he further alleged.
According to Naveen, he also witnessed his brother being beaten. “After some time, they started to beat my brother black and blue with lathis, and his cries for help were not heard by anybody there. I saw him collapse inside the station.”
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Ajith Kumar confessed to the crime
According to the FIR, at 9:30 am on 27 June, a devotee at the Madapuram Bathrakaliamman Temple, identified as Nikitha, asked Ajith Kumar to park her car. She later filed a complaint with the Thirupuvanam Police, alleging that some gold and Rs. 2,500 that were in the car were missing.
As part of their inquiry, that night, the police picked up Ajith Kumar. Later, they also took his brother, Naveen, and four of his friends into police custody for interrogation. They were all released the next day after Ajith Kumar allegedly confessed to the crime.
“He confessed to the crime and said that he had kept the stolen jewels in the cow shed at the backyard of the Madapuram temple (where he works). When taken to the spot, we could not find the stolen jewels, and he attempted to escape from the police,” the FIR said.
He was again caught and taken into custody for further interrogation. “During the course of interrogation, he again escaped from the police and fell, causing severe injuries, and suffered fits.”
Ajith Kumar was first rushed to a primary hospital in Thirupuvanam and was later shifted to Government Rajaji Hospital, where he was declared dead.
Naveen denied the allegations that Ajith Kumar, or anyone else, tried to escape from the police.
“It was we who went to the police station for an inquiry. If we had wanted to escape, we would not have even appeared before the police for inquiry at all,” he alleged, adding that, “It’s all cooked up by the police.”
The opposition party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), has demanded compensation for the victim’s family. E. Marees Kumar, the state deputy secretary of AIADMK’s advocate wing, has filed a petition before the Madurai bench of Madras High Court seeking Rs 50 lakh compensation and the registration of a murder case against those responsible for Ajith Kumar’s death. The petition also demanded that the investigation be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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