The CB-CID chargesheet in the custodial death of 26-year-old Dalit youth Akash Delison says the six policemen accused in his death knew that he belonged to the Scheduled Caste (SC) Devendrakula Vellalar community and assaulted him with the intention of causing his death. All six have been charged with offences under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, along with provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Akash, from Sivaganga district, died on March 8 while under treatment at the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai, two days after his arrest by the Manamadurai police. Police had arrested Akash and another man, Guna, on March 6, in connection with an attempted murder case.
Even though the chargesheet on Akash’s custodial torture and murder was filed before the III Additional District Judge for Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) cases in Madurai on June 18, Akash’s parents received a copy only recently. It names Inspector Dileepan, Sub-Inspector K Guhan, Grade-I Constable S Kaleeswaran, driver constable P Mahendran, constable L Deivendran, and constable B Palaniyappan as accused.
The CB-CID has charged all six under section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which applies when a person who is not a member of an SC or ST community commits an offence against an SC/ST person knowing their caste or tribal identity, along with the charges of murder and causing disappearance of evidence or giving false information to screen an offender.
Dileepan, the first accused, has additionally been charged with knowingly recording or framing an incorrect document or electronic record as a public servant, with the intention of causing injury to another person.
The caste identities of both the victim and the accused have been specifically recorded in the chargesheet.
Akash is identified as belonging to the Hindu Devendrakula Vellalar community, which comes under the SC category. The chargesheet says Dileepan belongs to the Hindu Piramalai Kallar community, which is classified as Other Backward Class (OBC), and, in specified districts including Sivaganga, also as a Denotified (DNT) community. Guhan belonged to the Hindu Kallar community. Kaleeswaran belonged to the Hindu Tuluva Vellalar community. Mahendran belonged to the Hindu Gounder community and Deivendran and Palaniyappan to the Hindu Agamudayar community. All are categorised as in BC Tamil Nadu.
‘Fully aware that Akash belonged to Scheduled Caste’
The chargesheet explicitly links the alleged assault to the policemen’s knowledge of Akash’s caste identity.
“The investigation conducted so far reveals that the accused, fully aware that the deceased Akash Delison belonged to the Hindu Devendrakula Velalar community, took him in a police vehicle on March 6, 2026, around 5.30 pm to a secluded, low-lying area full of eucalyptus trees, off the road to Maanambathi village,” the chargesheet states.
It says that the accused took Akash there “with the intention of causing his death” and that all six beat him with an iron rod below his right knee and above his ankle, causing severe fractures.
The chargesheet says the injuries resulted in fat embolism, which directly caused Akash’s death.
The allegation under the SC/ST Act is significant because section 3(2)(v) applies when a person who is not a member of an SC or ST commits an offence punishable under the IPC/BNS against a person or property knowing that such person is a member of an SC or ST.
In this case, the CB-CID has specifically stated that the six policemen were aware of Akash’s SC identity.
Chargesheet details alleged plan to break Akash’s leg
The chargesheet also gives a detailed account of how Akash was allegedly taken to the location where he was assaulted.
According to the chargesheet, Inspector Dileepan told Sub-Inspector Guhan that Akash’s leg had to be broken because he was allegedly involved in criminal cases and instructed him to identify a suitable location.
The chargesheet says Guhan, along with constables Deivendran and Palaniyappan, selected a secluded spot near a mud road surrounded by eucalyptus trees on the road from Manamadurai to Maanambathi.
Dileepan allegedly then travelled to the location in a police vehicle with Kaleeswaran and Mahendran. Akash, who was allegedly blindfolded, was taken out of another vehicle and placed in Dileepan’s vehicle.
The chargesheet says Dileepan, Kaleeswaran, and Mahendran subsequently took Akash to a government eucalyptus grove where Guhan, Deivendran, and Palaniyappan were already waiting.
There, according to the CB-CID, all six assaulted Akash on his right leg with an iron rod, causing a fracture. The document says the fracture was so severe that the bone was visible.
The injured Akash was then allegedly helped back to the police vehicle by Deivendran, Palaniyappan, Kaleeswaran, and Mahendran, with Dileepan also accompanying them.
Police allegedly created false account of injuries
The chargesheet also accuses the policemen of concealing the iron rod used in the assault and creating a false account of how Akash sustained his injuries.
According to the document, Inspector Dileepan recorded that Akash had sustained the injuries after jumping from the Melappasali bridge near Manamadurai.
The CB-CID says Dileepan knew that Akash had not jumped from the bridge but nevertheless recorded the false version in his capacity as a public servant.
This allegation forms the basis for the additional charges under sections 201 and 238 of the BNS against Dileepan.
Akash was taken to Manamadurai Government Hospital after the alleged assault and later shifted to the Sivaganga Medical College Hospital. He was subsequently admitted to Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai while in judicial custody.
He died on March 8 while undergoing treatment, and Akash’s family had alleged custodial torture.
Akash, a resident of Krishnarajapuram near Manamadurai in Sivaganga district, was arrested on March 6 along with another man, Guna, in connection with a case relating to an alleged attack on two men.
Police had initially claimed that Akash sustained his injuries after jumping from a bridge while attempting to evade arrest. His family rejected this version and alleged that he had been tortured in custody.
Akash’s mother Ananthi recalled her son’s last words to her: “Amma, they beat me. It hurts. I told them not to beat me, but they didn't stop. They broke my leg, Amma.”
A dying declaration allegedly recorded before a magistrate had also been cited by human rights activists in support of the family’s allegation of custodial assault.
A postmortem conducted in the presence of a judicial magistrate recorded more than two dozen injuries, including fractures of the tibia and fibula in Akash’s right leg, muscle and nerve damage, wounds on his elbows and knees, and multiple abrasions.
Akash’s body had remained in the Government Rajaji Hospital mortuary for around 100 days after his family refused to receive it, demanding action against those responsible for his death. The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court subsequently directed the state to conduct the cremation, and his body was cremated on June 17.
The case is pending before the III Additional District Judge for PCR Cases, Madurai.