Published Aug 26, 2026 | 11:53 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 26, 2026 | 11:53 PM
The cops tried to destroy evidence, and even spread a false narrative.
Synopsis: Six policemen took Akash and Guna to a secluded area and, on the orders of Inspector Dileepan, hit the former with an iron rod. Akash suffered a fracture, which led to a fat embolism that claimed his life, the CB-CID chargesheet said. The two men were arrested for vandalism and criminal assault.
The Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID), which has been probing the Akash Delishan death case, has charged six Tamil Nadu police personnel with murder.
A chargesheet filed before the Madurai III Additional District Judge looking into offences under the Protection of Civil Rights Act alleged that the police personnel assaulted 26-year-old Akash with an iron rod in a secluded eucalyptus plantation.
The man suffered a fracture to his left leg, and consequently died of fat embolism—a condition in which one or more droplet-like particles of fat enter the bloodstream and block circulation through some of the blood vessels.
The chargesheet named Inspector Dileepan, Sub-Inspector Gugan, and constables K Kaleeswaran, P Mahendran, L Theivendran and P Palaniappan as accused.
The findings are contained in the original chargesheet filed by the CB-CID before the III Additional District Judge for PCR Cases, Madurai, on June 18, 2026. The chargesheet invokes Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 201 and 238 BNS and Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
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The chargesheet said Akash and another man, Guna, were accused in a case registered at Manamadurai police station. The case pertained to damaging a motorcycle on the intervening night of 5 and 6 March, and attacking two men, Alagar and Jayakumar, with a sword.
Police registered the case against Akash and Guna on 6 March. Since the station Inspector, Kumaravel Pandian, was facing another case, Inspector Dileepan of Tiruppuvanam police station took up the investigation on the instructions of the Manamadurai Deputy Superintendent of Police.
The chargesheet stated that Dileepan formed teams comprising Sub-Inspectors Gugan, Ramachandran and Bharathiraja to trace Akash and Guna.
Around 12.30 pm on 6 March, the police traced the two men to the Kilangattur area in the Sivaganga district. The chargesheet said Akash and Guna attempted to escape, bolted through thorny bushes, but were apprehended around 1 pm.
They were then taken in a Tempo vehicle to an area near the Royal Swimming Pool, close to the Konnakulam bus stop, and later to a eucalyptus forest area.
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One of the significant findings in the chargesheet is the allegation that Inspector Dileepan instructed Sub-Inspector Gugan to break Akash’s leg.
The chargesheet stated that Dileepan told Gugan that Akash had been repeatedly involved in criminal activities and that his leg should be broken. Gugan, along with police personnel Theivendran and Palaniappan, allegedly selected a secluded, low-lying spot surrounded by eucalyptus trees near a mud road on the Manamadurai-Manampatti route to carry out the order.
Around 5.30 pm, Dileepan allegedly shifted a blindfolded Akash to a police vehicle.
The chargesheet recorded a phone call between Dileepan and Gugan at 5.36 pm. It then alleged that Dileepan stopped the police vehicle on the road, left one policeman inside the vehicle and took blindfolded Akash to government poramboke land in Survey No. 134.
Dileepan, Gugan, Kaleeswaran, Mahendran, Theivendran and Palaniappan allegedly assaulted Akash with the iron rod with the intention of causing an injury capable of causing death.
The rod allegedly struck Akash on the right leg, below the knee and above the ankle, causing a fracture. The chargesheet stated that the fracture was so severe that the broken bone was visible.
The injured Akash was then allegedly brought back to the police vehicle with the assistance of Theivendran, Palaniappan, Kaleeswaran and Mahendran. The chargesheet stated that policeman Sarankumar, who remained in the vehicle, was a witness.
Akash was taken to Manamadurai Government Hospital around 6.10 pm and was subsequently referred to Sivaganga Medical College Hospital, where he was admitted around 7 pm.
The next morning, 7 March, a judicial magistrate remanded Akash in connection with the original criminal case. The chargesheet stated that the magistrate recorded the fracture in the remand report and directed that he be treated in the prisoner ward of the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai.
Akash was admitted to Ward 99 of Rajaji Hospital at around 1.30 pm. on 7 March. The chargesheet stated that he was subsequently taken on the rolls of Madurai Central Prison as an undertrial prisoner.
He died at around 5.45 am on 8 March while undergoing treatment. A case was initially registered at the Rajaji Hospital police station under Section 196 BNSS following a complaint by a prison official. The matter was subsequently transferred to the CB-CID and re-registered.
The chargesheet specifically identified the castes of Akash and the six accused.
It recorded that Akash belonged to the Hindu Devendrakula Vellalar community and identified him as belonging to a Scheduled Caste. It also records that all six accused police personnel belonged to communities classified in the chargesheet as non-SC communities.
The chargesheet identified Inspector Dileepan as belonging to the Hindu Piramalai Kallar community; Sub-Inspector Gugan as Hindu Kallar; Kaleeswaran as Hindu Thuluva Vellalar; Mahendran as Hindu Gounder; and Theivendran and Palaniappan as Hindu Agamudayar.
The CB-CID alleged that the accused knew that Akash was a member of the Scheduled Caste community.
The chargesheet said that despite knowing his caste identity, the six accused took Akash in a police vehicle to the secluded eucalyptus forest area near the Manampatti Road and assaulted him with the intention of causing death.
The chargesheet attributed Akash’s death to fat embolism, described as a consequence of the serious fracture caused to his leg. On this basis, the CB-CID has invoked Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act along with the relevant provisions of the BNS.
The chargesheet also alleged attempts to conceal the circumstances of the assault.
It stated that the iron rod allegedly used in the attack was subsequently concealed, amounting to destruction or concealment of evidence.
It further alleged that Inspector Dileepan recorded a false statement suggesting that Akash had jumped from the Melappasalai overbridge near Manamadurai, even though the officer knew that Akash had not jumped from the bridge.
The chargesheet stated that this false version caused harm to the deceased and forms part of the offences attributed to Dileepan.
Although the CB-CID filed the chargesheet on 18 June, Akash’s family said they were provided a copy only after 68 days.
The family also alleged that the copy they received had only 12 pages and that they have not been provided copies of all the documents and records collected or prepared during the investigation.
They sought copies of the complete set of investigation documents and questioned why the chargesheet copy was provided to them only several weeks after it was filed before the court.
The family has also demanded that Inspector Kumaravel Pandian, whom they alleged was involved in taking Akash from his house, be included in the case and that the role of the other police personnel named in their complaint be investigated.
As the accused are serving police personnel, the CB-CID has also initiated the process for obtaining sanction for prosecution.
The chargesheet stated that a request for sanction of prosecution against Inspector Dileepan was sent to the Inspector General of Police, South Zone, Madurai. A similar request concerning Sub-Inspector Gugan was sent to the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ramanathapuram Range.
Requests for sanction concerning the other four accused — Kaleeswaran, Mahendran, Theivendran and Palaniappan — were sent to the Superintendent of Police, Sivaganga district.
