CHENNAI: A woman lawyer has alleged custodial torture by the Greater Chennai Police during the midnight arrest of the sanitary workers on August 13 and sought the Madras High Court to order a “judicial probe” even as the state complained of violations of the bail conditions by one of the advocates who was spearheading the 13-day strike.
Narrating the events unfolded on the night of August 13 and the following day after she and law student Valarmathi were picked up by the police from a marriage hall at Velacherry, where they went to meet the arrested workers, S Arthi, a practicing advocate, filed an affidavit in the court praying for the court to “order a judicial inquiry into the unlawful arrest and detention” of herself and the student and the subsequent “custodial violence” suffered by them at the All Women Police Station in Chintadiripet and the Anna Salai Police station.
The affidavit, filed through advocate M Radhakrishnan, stated that subjecting them to custodial violence throughout the night and the physical and mental agony inflicted on them, even denying medical treatment, “reveal the bitter truth that any person- be a lawperson or a layperson-can be arrested, detained and tortured by any police personnel at any time.”
It said the police personnel- clad in uniform and plainclothes- beat them mercilessly by confining them inside the lockup at the Chintadiripet police station before snatching their mobile phones.
The cries for medical help went unheard by even an assistant commissioner and a woman inspector on duty, it stated.
According to the affidavit, which was filed before a division bench of justices MS Ramesh and V Lakshminarayanan on Thursday, both Arthi and Valarmathi were taken to various police stations unnecessarily before confining them at the Anna Salai where the cops got some papers signed by them and released them.
For a 2.3 km distance from Chintadiripet police station to the Anna Salai police station, they took more than three hours, it alleged.
Advocate Radhakrishnan submitted before the bench that the mobile phones were being illegally used by the police without returning them.
However, Additional Advocate General J Ravindran, representing the state, denied the allegations and said they were not arrested but were let off by the cops after holding an inquiry.
He informed that the gadgets were produced in the jurisdictional court by the cops.
Ravindran complained that advocate K Bharathi, president of Uzhaippr Urimai Iyakkam which spearheaded the strike, violated the bail conditions by addressing a meeting.
He sought the court to take appropriate action against him for such violation.
Directing both sides to submit affidavits and counter-affidavit on their contentions, the bench adjourned the hearing of the habeas corpus petitions filed by the advocates and law students by a week.
However, it extended the order granting interim bail to Bharathi, K Suresh, Mohan Babu, R Rajkumar, all lawyers and Muthuselvan and Valarmathi, both law students.