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The Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) on Thursday, June 18, filed a chargesheet against six police personnel accused in the custodial death of Akash Delison.
The Tamil Nadu government had carried out the cremation rites of Akash Delison on June 17, despite opposition from his family.
The chargesheet names Inspector Dileepan, Sub-Inspector Gugan, Grade-1 Constables Kaleeswaran and Mahendran, and Head Constables Palani and Deivendran. All six officials had been earlier suspended in connection with the case.
Akash Delison, a resident of Krishnarajapuram near Manamadurai of Sivaganga district, belonging to the Scheduled Caste Pallar community, died on March 8. He was 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. They were accused of attacking two men, P Jayakumar and R Azhagar, with sharp weapons.
Following Akash’s death, the police maintained that he sustained injuries after falling from a bridge while allegedly attempting to escape. However, his family rejected the claim and accused the police of subjecting him to custodial torture.
In a dying declaration, Akash allegedly told authorities that police officers had blindfolded and assaulted him.
A postmortem conducted in the presence of a judicial magistrate reportedly documented more than two dozen injuries across the body.
The findings included severe fractures in the tibia and fibula of his right leg, extensive muscle and nerve damage, wounds on his elbows and knees, and multiple abrasions.
The case triggered widespread outrage and demands for accountability. Akash’s family refused to receive his body, alleging that adequate action had not been taken against those responsible for his death.
As a result, his body remained in the GRH mortuary for more than three months. On June 16, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court directed the state government to take immediate steps for the dignified cremation of Akash.
Justice L Victoria Gowri observed that the right to a decent burial or cremation is part of the dignity of a deceased person and held that the body could not be preserved indefinitely because relatives refused to claim it.
The court noted that all medico-legal formalities had been completed and that preserving the body further would not serve any investigative purpose.
Following the court’s order, Akash’s mortal remains were cremated on June 17 at the Thathaneri crematorium in Madurai under heavy police security, despite opposition from the family members.
The investigation into the custodial death is being carried out by the CB-CID, which has now filed its chargesheet against the six police personnel accused in the case.