Prison records state that Thangasamy was admitted into the prison with fresh injury marks and it was noted that he was shivering and drunk.
Published Jun 19, 2023 | 3:09 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 19, 2023 | 4:11 PM
Refusing to accept the body, Thangasamy's relatives protested and sought action against the Perumalpuram police, claiming that he was beaten by the police, given liquor, and sent to judicial remand after his health condition worsened. (Creative Commons)
The Perumalpuram police in Tamil Nadu’s Tenkasi district is in the dock after a Dalit youth, arrested on charges of selling liquor illegally through a petty shop, died in judicial custody. The autopsy report of the deceased revealed that he had seven injuries on his body that occurred three to four days before his death.
According to sources, Dalit youth M Thangasamy (23) was arrested on 11 June for selling liquor illegally. The police booked him under Sections 294(b), 353, 506(2) of the Indian Penal Code, and Sections 4(1)(I), 4(1)(a) and 14A of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act.
They arrested the Dalit youth based on a complaint lodged by the station sub-inspector.
A day later, he was remanded to judicial custody by the Perumalpuram police and lodged in Palayamkottai Central Prison on the evening of 12 June.
According to the prison records, Thangasamy was admitted into the prison with a few fresh injury marks on his body, and it was also noted that he was shivering and was drunk.
Since his health condition was deteriorating in prison, he was taken to the prison hospital on 13 June and was admitted for treatment. On 14 June, following a slight improvement in his health, he was discharged by the prison doctors and lodged in his prison cell.
On the same day, he collapsed in his cell and was then taken to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. Later, a postmortem was performed.
Refusing to accept the body, Thangasamy’s relatives protested and sought action against the Perumalpuram police. The family claimed that he was beaten by the police, forcibly given liquor, and sent to judicial remand after his health condition worsened.
They alleged that his postmortem was not video-recorded and that the police was tampering with evidence, including the CCTV footage of the police station at the time Thangasamy was in custody.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons had ordered an inquiry into Thangasamy’s death.
Autopsy report of Thangasamy. (Supplied)
According to the postmortem report filed by doctors in the Forensic Department of Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital, the irregular abrasions included a 2×2 cm abrasion over the tip of his right shoulder, 0.5×0.5 cm abrasion over the inner aspect of the right little finger, 1.5×0.5 cm abrasion over the front of the right lower knee, 1×1 cm abrasion over the midline of the lower back, 0.5×0.5 cm abrasion over the midline of the lower back, 2.5×1 cm abrasion over the left hip, and 0.5×0.5 cm abrasion over the front of the left upper leg.
The report also stated that the injuries are antemortem in nature and could have occurred 3 to 4 days prior to death (on the day when he was picked by the police).
However, Tenkasi Superintendent of Police (SP) ET Samson refuted the custody torture charge and said that an inquiry is underway.
In the meanwhile, human rights organisations and Dalit outfits have taken the issue up and sought action against the concerned police station.
After the custodial deaths of father-son duo Jayaraj and Bennix, which happened in 2020 at Sathankulam, strict instructions were given to police to follow the guidelines laid in the DK Basu case.
Chief Minister MK Stalin on 10 May, 2022, while speaking in the state Assembly, assured that there would be no more custodial deaths in Tamil Nadu.
“Safety will be ensured in jail,” Stalin said and stated that no one will be tortured — mentally or physically — when in custody. Custodial deaths cannot be justified,” he added.
The Madras High Court, during a hearing of a custodial death, suggested that the state set up a police complaints authority headed by retired judges, in an attempt to put an end to the issue.
However, recent incidents of custodial torture ASP Balveer Singh in Ambasamudram, which falls under the Tamil Nadu South Zone police, are still pending inquiry.
The National Human Rights Commission and the State Human Rights Commission recently stated firmly that it is the responsibility of the state to protect the life of a remand prisoner, who is under judicial custody.
