A video of 27-year-old Ajith Kumar being beaten has emerged mere hours after the Madras High Court questioned the inaction of the state government in connection with the case. Ajith, a temple guard, died on June 29, after he collapsed during an alleged assault by the jurisdictional Thiruppuvanam police.
The video shows Ajith Kumar sitting on the floor, being beaten by a man with a stick. The video also shows two more men standing nearby and watching as the assault takes place. The video was reportedly shot by a temple employee.
Ajith, who had been picked up by the police in a theft case, was allegedly tortured in illegal custody on June 29 in front of his brother. Five police personnel from Thiruppuvanam police station have since been arrested after the post-mortem report confirmed severe internal and external injuries.
Hearing the case on Tuesday, July 1, Justices SM Subramaniam and AD Maria Clete of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court questioned the conduct of the police and the inaction of the state government in the case.
“Custodial death is violative of the fundamental right of a person. Despite the international conventions and prescription of procedures in the DK Basu case and subsequent judgements, custodial deaths are reported, which is a concern to the public. The procedures for investigations, registration of complaints are codified, and violations are equally dominating, which would show the mindset of the police officials, which would require stern action,” the court said.
The Judicial Magistrate of Thirubuvanam will be submitting an immediate preliminary report to the court at 3 pm on July 1. The court has also asked the Executive Officer of Madapuram Batharakali Amman Temple and Sathishwaran, the eyewitness who recorded the video, to be present in the court at the same time.
Further, the court has directed the Dean of Madurai Rajaji Government Hospital to furnish a copy of the autopsy report.
Dissatisfied with the action taken by the TN government, the court said that the facts narrated on behalf of the petitioners were disturbing the conscience of the court. The bench criticised the government, stating that the actions taken by the government were not commensurate with the allegations set out by the petitioners.
Further, the bench said that the court would have to probe the matter if certain actions (by the government) appeared to cover a mystery.
Ajith was initially picked up for questioning on June 27 in a theft case involving gold jewellery. Though Ajith and four other temple staff were briefly questioned and released, they were later taken into custody again by a six-member team for further questioning. At around 4 am on June 28, Ajith’s younger brother Naveen was also picked up. According to Naveen’s eyewitness statement recorded by a Judicial Magistrate, Ajith was brutally beaten in front of him and collapsed during the assault.
Following widespread outrage and post-mortem report findings which indicated at least 15 external injuries and serious internal damage, including trauma to the ribs and throat, the Tamil Nadu police arrested five personnel from Thiruppuvanam police station. The arrested officers, Raja, Anand, Sankaramanikandan, Praphu Ganesan, and Kannan have been booked under Section 196(2)(a) (custodial death) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Act.
According to the initial FIR registered based on a complaint lodged by head constable Kannan, Ajith allegedly tried to escape the police twice. “Once when he tried to escape and fell down, he was caught by the police. The second time, the head constable was informed by another police personnel that when Ajith tried to escape from police custody, he fell down and suffered seizures and was taken to hospital,” read the FIR.
The FIR also mentions that the special team started investigating the case based on the orders of Manamadurai DSP and they took custody of Ajith from Tirubhuvanam inspector.