Singh was accused of custodial torture of suspects when he was the assistant superintendent of police (ASP) in the Ambasamudram sub-division.
Balveer Singh (left), and one of the victims showing his injury. (Supplied)
The Tamil Nadu Home Ministry has accorded prosecution sanction to file the charge sheet against suspended IPS officer Balveer Singh, who is accused of torturing suspects after picking them for police enquiry.
According to sources South First reached out to, Home Secretary P Amudha, who was also the special enquiry officer in the case, allowed the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) to file the charge sheet against the IPS officer.
The nod is said to have come after Amudha consulted with Chief Minister MK Stalin, who holds the Home Department portfolio.
Following the permission, the CB-CID is expected to file its charge-sheet against the suspended IPS officer in a week.
Singh, a 2020 batch IPS officer, was accused of plucking the teeth of detainees using a cutting plier and crushing their testicles when he was serving as the assistant superintendent of police (ASP) in the Ambasamudram sub-division in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
The victims also alleged that the officer forcibly put blue-metal stones (basalt stones, often used in construction) in their mouths and hit them in the face.
The victims on 26 March took to social media to explain the ordeal and torture they allegedly suffered at the hands of ASP in the Kallidakurichi, Vikramasingapuram, and Ambasamudram Police Stations.
As the videos went viral, Stalin told the Tamil Nadu Assembly on 29 March that he had ordered the authorities to suspend Balveer Singh.
A preliminary enquiry was ordered into the issue and the Cheranmahadevi sub-divisional magistrate-cum-sub-collector completed the probe and submitted a report to the Tirunelveli district collector on 3 April.
As human rights activists and news outlets reported several discrepancies in the preliminary enquiry, the Tamil Nadu government on 7 April appointed Amudha, who was then the principal secretary in the government (Rural Development), as a special enquiry officer.
On 17 April, the Tirunelveli district police booked the suspended ASP under three sections of the law.
Meanwhile, Amudha submitted her report and recommended an external investigation agency’s probe into the issue.
Since there were allegations levelled against the district police that the victims were threatened, the case was transferred to the CB-CID for inquiry on 19 April.
The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) also took cognizance of the incident and ordered a separate inquiry.
Following it, seven police personnel — including two inspectors and the then Superintendent of Police P Saravanan — were transferred.
In the first week of May, the CB-CID booked Singh in four separate cases, including under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The agency summoned the victims and recorded their statements. They were also subjected to medical examination, and medical experts’ opinion was also sought by the investigation team.
The CCTV footage of the Kallidakurichi, Vikramasingapuram, and Ambasamudram Police Stations during the tenure of Singh was collected, and the witnesses’ statements were also recorded.
Evidence like blood stains, instruments used to torture the victims, and log books of the concerned police stations were collected by the agency.
In the later stage of the investigation, the CB-CID dropped the Atrocities Act provisions from the FIR as the charges.
The CB-CID completed its investigation in a span of three months. It sought sanction from the Home Department in August to proceed with the case by filing the charge-sheet against the suspended IPS officer.
However, Singh was not arrested in the case and was ordered to stay in Chennai.
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