CHENNAI: The State Human Rights Commission ordered a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to a Chennai-based goldsmith, seven years after the then Inspector of Police of the Washermanpet station allegedly extorted jewellery from him.
In his complaint, T Muthu, a goldsmith for 40 years in Old Washermanpet, stated that Soundararajan, the then Inspector of Police, took him to the station and told Muthu that he had purchased 55 grams of stolen jewels from one Ramesh.
When he denied the charges, Soundararajan threatened him, saying that he would not be released from police custody unless he handed over at least 25 grams of the stolen jewels. After Muthu’s blood sugar level dropped because he was not offered food, he affixed his signature on two white papers under coercion.
However, Soundararajan argued in court that a case was registered and action taken against Muthu, based on a complaint by a resident of Washermanpet.
After perusing the available documents, member of the commission A Chittaranjan Mohandoss ruled, “It is clear that only to extort jewels from the complainant, the respondent (Soundararajan) has fabricated the documents and acted in a high-handed manner.”