"Will Teach A Lesson To Police": Madras High Court In Custodial Death Case

The judiciary will "teach a lesson to the police," the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has said, pointing out that a man was "beaten to death for nothing". The case involved the death of a security guard at a temple, Ajith Kumar, which the court said, is a clear case of custodial death. The complaint of jewellery theft that triggered his arrest was false, the court has pointed out, refusing bail to the arrested policemen.

Ajith Kumar, who worked as a security guard at the Madapuram Badrakali Amman temple near Tiruppuvanam, was picked up on June 27 last year following a complaint that jewellery had gone missing. He died the next day after alleged custodial torture. Video footage of the assault had surfaced earlier. A postmortem examination documented around 40 injuries on his body, confirming severe physical abuse.

The Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI, which is probing the case, had told the court that its inquiry confirmed Ajith Kumar's death as a custodial killing. It also said the jewellery theft complaint lodged against him had no basis in fact and had been closed.

Hearing bail pleas filed by few among the five arrested special police team members - Anand, Kannan, Raja, Prabhu and Sankar Manikandan - Justice Sreemathi expressed anguish over the circumstances of the death. 

Questioning the basis of the initial complaint, the judge asked whether action will be taken against the complainant, observing that an innocent man had been brutally assaulted over a non-existent case. 

The court directed that the accused policemen remain in custody till the conclusion of trial and adjourned the hearing to February 17.

According to the CBI, at least ten officials - including a DSP, an inspector, a head constable and members of the special team - have had police cases filed against them in connection with the incident. 

The agency told the court there was no prior enmity between the victim and the officers and the assault occurred during questioning ordered by senior officials.

The High Court had earlier ordered an interim compensation of ₹25 lakh to the victim's family. Chief Minister MK Stalin had transferred the investigation to the CBI, saying the investigation must be beyond reproach and publicly apologised to Ajith Kumar's family.