“Was He A Terrorist?” Madras High Court Slams Tamil Nadu Police Over Custodial Death
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Madras HC questions police on temple guard Ajit Kumar’s alleged torture and dying in custody. Courtroom calls for solutions, citing rising custodial deaths within the state.
Chennai: As we speak, on June 30, in a deeply troubling case, the Madurai Bench of the Madras Excessive Courtroom is wanting into the alleged custodial dying of 27-year-old Ajit Kumar, a temple safety guard from Thirupuvanam in Sivagangai district, Tamil Nadu.
Ajit died after being taken into police custody, and the courtroom has taken up the matter by itself (suo motu). Throughout the listening to on Monday, the bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and CV Karthikeyan requested sturdy and severe inquiries to the authorities.
The judges wished to know why Ajit Kumar was picked up by the police in any respect.
“Was he a terrorist?”
the judges questioned, asking if such harsh remedy was crucial in a case like this. In addition they raised considerations about why Ajit was allegedly overwhelmed when he had no weapons on him.
The case has come below the courtroom’s focus after the AIADMK’s authorized wing filed a petition, declaring that there have been 24 custodial deaths in Tamil Nadu during the last 4 years. Responding to this, the courtroom has requested the federal government for full particulars on all such deaths.
The federal government lawyer has requested for extra time to offer the data, so the subsequent listening to has been scheduled for Tuesday.
Sivagangai District Superintendent of Police, Ashish Rawat, has already begun an investigation. Six policemen have been suspended — their names are Ramachandran, Prabhu, Kannan, Sankara Manikandan, Raja, and Anand.
The incident occurred in Thirupuvanam. Ajit Kumar, who labored as a guard on the Madapuram Kaliamman temple, was first taken in for questioning after a theft criticism.
A 42-year-old girl had stated that round 80 grams of gold jewelry went lacking from her automobile. She informed police that she had requested Ajit to park her automobile when she got here to the temple, however he didn’t know the best way to drive, so he acquired another person to assist him.
Ajit was let go after questioning however later, he was allegedly taken again into custody. Not lengthy after that, the police knowledgeable his household that he had died. His household believes that Ajit died due to torture by the police.
His brother Naveen shared surprising particulars.
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He stated,
“5 folks, together with me, had been taken and we had been on rounds and overwhelmed. She had requested him to park her automobile as a result of she was handicapped, however he didn’t know the best way to drive. So he requested another person. Later, police stated the jewelry was lacking. They hit him badly.”
Naveen additionally added,
“They even hit me for half an hour earlier than him to influence him to admit. I used to be made to kneel… My brother had no legal background. He was gagged and overwhelmed.”
The autopsy of Ajit Kumar was accomplished, and the physique was handed over to his mother and father on Monday.
AIADMK Basic Secretary Edappadi Okay. Palaniswami has demanded a judicial inquiry, full compensation for Ajit’s household, and strict punishment for the responsible cops.
He additionally hit out at Chief Minister M. Okay. Stalin, saying,
“If somebody is discovered responsible, the particular person needs to be arrested and produced in entrance of the courtroom, not subjected to police brutality. I condemn the puppet CM who’s answerable for the Police Division however unable to manipulate it.”
BJP’s Tamil Nadu President Nainar Nagendran additionally raised alarm over the case.
He stated,
“With kinfolk claiming that seven policemen beat Ajit Kumar for 2 days within the title of enquiry, it raises severe suspicions of a lock-up dying,”
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He added,
“Simply final week, three ladies — together with a pregnant girl — who tried to file a sexual assault criticism had been attacked by a policeman. Now Ajit’s brother says they had been certain and overwhelmed inside a shifting automobile. This exhibits the rising sample of police brutality,”
whereas demanding a correct and speedy investigation by the state authorities.
Case Title:
Suo Motu W.P. (MD) No. 11972 of 2025 – In re: Alleged Custodial Dying of Ajit Kumar
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